DAILY NO. 5 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
The September 26, 2026 puzzle ran from a stage microphone at 18 cm to a concert harp at 1.9 m — about 10× apart, drawing on music. The pair furthest apart was round 4: a violin is about 1.7× smaller than an acoustic guitar.
Puzzle #5 asked about a trombone, a double bass, a concert harp, a violin and a stage microphone. Each answer below gives the measured size, the reference it stood beside and the source behind the number. Want the surprise first? Replay this puzzle — archived days never touch your streak.
Answer: Trombone — 90 cm. A trombone measures 90 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a golden retriever at 94 cm.
Measured closed — running the slide out to seventh position adds more than half a metre.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a trombone when it sits beside a golden retriever — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Double Bass — 1.8 m. A double bass measures 1.8 m (height), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a refrigerator at 1.8 m.
Tall enough that players either stand or perch on a stool.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a double bass when it sits beside a refrigerator — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Concert Harp — 1.9 m. A concert harp measures 1.9 m (height), which is about 1.1× smaller than the reference, a US interior door at 2 m.
Forty-seven strings holding close to a tonne of combined tension.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a concert harp when it sits beside a US interior door — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Violin — 59 cm. A violin measures 59 cm (height), which is about 1.7× smaller than the reference, an acoustic guitar at 1 m.
A full-size violin is always about this long; smaller fractions exist for children, down to 1/16.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a violin when it sits beside an acoustic guitar — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Stage Microphone — 18 cm. A stage microphone measures 18 cm (height), which is 1.1× as big as the reference, an ice cream cone at 17 cm.
A handheld vocal mic is sized around the grip, not the capsule inside it.
Common miss: players tend to compress a stage microphone when it sits beside an ice cream cone — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Sizes are measured along the axis named in each round and link to their published source. Explore the full library by category, or read how scoring works.