DAILY NO. 18 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
Today's five sports Size It Up comparisons with the measured size of each object, its reference and a source you can check. The puzzle is still live, so every answer stays hidden until you tap it. Haven't played yet? Play today's puzzle first.
The October 9, 2026 puzzle ran from a bowling ball at 21.8 cm to an Olympic swimming pool at 50 m — about 229× apart, drawing on sports. The pair furthest apart was round 1: an Olympic swimming pool is about 1.4× smaller than a Boeing 747.
Answer: Olympic Swimming Pool — 50 m. An Olympic swimming pool measures 50 m (length / span), which is about 1.4× smaller than the reference, a Boeing 747 at 70.7 m.
An Olympic pool is exactly 50 metres long.
Common miss: players tend to inflate an Olympic swimming pool when it sits beside a Boeing 747 — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Tennis Racket — 68.5 cm. A tennis racket measures 68.5 cm (height), which is about 1.3× smaller than the reference, a dining chair at 90 cm.
The rules allow up to 73.7 cm, but almost every player uses something just under 69 cm.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a tennis racket when it sits beside a dining chair — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Bowling Ball — 21.8 cm. A bowling ball measures 21.8 cm (length / span), which is about 1.1× smaller than the reference, an NBA basketball at 24.3 cm.
Every bowling ball is the same width — only the weight changes, from six to sixteen pounds.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a bowling ball when it sits beside an NBA basketball — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Hockey Stick — 1.6 m. A hockey stick measures 1.6 m (height), which is about 1.1× smaller than the reference, a refrigerator at 1.8 m.
A stick is fitted to reach between the chin and the nose when the player is standing on skates.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a hockey stick when it sits beside a refrigerator — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: American Football — 28 cm. An American football measures 28 cm (length / span), which is 1.1× as big as the reference, a birthday cake at 25 cm.
An American football is measured along its long axis; the pointed ends make it read larger than it is.
Common miss: players tend to compress an American football when it sits beside a birthday cake — 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.