DAILY NO. 49 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
The November 9, 2026 puzzle ran from a trumpet at 48 cm to a concert harp at 1.9 m — about 4× apart, drawing on music. The pair furthest apart was round 2: an alto saxophone is 1.3× as big as a violin.
Puzzle #49 asked about a concert harp, an alto saxophone, a concert flute, a concert tuba and a trumpet. 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: Concert Harp — 1.9 m. A concert harp measures 1.9 m (height), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a double bass at 1.8 m.
Forty-seven strings holding close to a tonne of combined tension.
Common miss: players tend to compress a concert harp when it sits beside a double bass — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Alto Saxophone — 74 cm. An alto saxophone measures 74 cm (height), which is 1.3× as big as the reference, a violin at 59 cm.
The bend and the bell fold more than a metre of tubing into 74 cm of instrument.
Common miss: players tend to compress an alto saxophone when it sits beside a violin — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Concert Flute — 67 cm. A concert flute measures 67 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a French baguette at 65 cm.
Played sideways, which makes its 67 cm read much smaller on stage.
Common miss: players tend to compress a concert flute when it sits beside a French baguette — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Concert Tuba — 1 m. A concert tuba measures 1 m (height), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, an acoustic guitar at 1 m.
Up to 5.5 m of tubing, wrapped into about a metre of instrument.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a concert tuba when it sits beside an acoustic guitar — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Trumpet — 48 cm. A trumpet measures 48 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a domestic cat at 46 cm.
About 1.5 m of tubing, wrapped into 48 cm of instrument.
Common miss: players tend to compress a trumpet when it sits beside a domestic cat — 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.