6 ms·

I love how the page gives an actual value to the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool: 2,500 cubic meters! That goes straight into long-term memory, for me.

by unwind 4y ago

I love how the page gives an actual value to the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool: 2,500 cubic meters! That goes straight into long-term memory, for me. I hope ... my memory sometimes feels differently.

cinntaile 4y ago
Something to be aware of. The length and the width are standardized, but the depth is not (it needs to be at least 2m deep) so it's not a very accurate number. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#Specifications https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#S...
Someone 4y ago
For me, that’s a derived value. An Olympic pool is 50m long, about half that wide (ten lanes; 8 for the swimmers plus one each near each edge for fairness (the waves would be very bad for swimmers swimming alongside the edge)) and about 2m deep. Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#Specifications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#Spe..., it’s slightly over 50m long (to allow for the mounting of touch panels), exactly 25m wide and at least 2m deep, so 2500m³ is a lower limit, and there is no theoretical upper limit.
- checkyoursudo 4y ago
  > and there is no theoretical upper limit. I would like an infinitely deep pool, please!
  - ithinkso 4y ago
    That might not be enough as in the case of Gabriel's horn [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%27s_horn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%27s_horn
tecleandor 4y ago
The always handy "Olympic pools", "Libraries of Congress" and "Football fields" (at least in Europe).
- viciousvoxel 4y ago
  In the USA we use football fields too, but they're US Standard (aka American) football fields (120 yards).
  - mcalus3 4y ago
    It was sarcasm, no one uses anything like that outside of the US. Using football fields as a measure of distance is as "stupid american" meme around the world.
    - walthamstow 4y ago
      Most of the rest of the world assumes a soccer pitch when an American says a football field. They are basically the same length, so what exactly is your problem with using them as a marker for distance? We Brits have our own markers, e.g. the area of Wales or the volume of a double decker bus. They don't translate that easily either.
      - smcl 4y ago
        Interestingly the area of a football pitch has a pretty huge degree of tolerance - between 45-90m wide and 90-120m long - and iirc while they can be nearly square, they aren't allowed to be exactly square (i.e. you can't have a 90x90m pitch, but 90x91m is ok ... if a little unusual). At some point I believe the home team would adjust the width/length according to opponents' preferred tactics, but idk if that happens anymore.
        walthamstow 4y ago
        There is no regulation football pitch in the world that is 45m wide. Where did you get this? UEFA regulations are tightly controlled. The pitch must be 100-105m long and 64-68m wide. FIFA have a wider tolerance (100-110m long) but that's probably because FIFA tournaments don't have home and away teams, whereas UEFA do.

by unwind 4y ago

cinntaile 4y ago

Something to be aware of. The length and the width are standardized, but the depth is not (it needs to be at least 2m deep) so it's not a very accurate number. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#Specifications https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#S...

Someone 4y ago

For me, that’s a derived value. An Olympic pool is 50m long, about half that wide (ten lanes; 8 for the swimmers plus one each near each edge for fairness (the waves would be very bad for swimmers swimming alongside the edge)) and about 2m deep. Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#Specifications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool#Spe..., it’s slightly over 50m long (to allow for the mounting of touch panels), exactly 25m wide and at least 2m deep, so 2500m³ is a lower limit, and there is no theoretical upper limit.

checkyoursudo 4y ago
> and there is no theoretical upper limit. I would like an infinitely deep pool, please!
- ithinkso 4y ago
  That might not be enough as in the case of Gabriel's horn [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%27s_horn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%27s_horn

tecleandor 4y ago

The always handy "Olympic pools", "Libraries of Congress" and "Football fields" (at least in Europe).

viciousvoxel 4y ago
In the USA we use football fields too, but they're US Standard (aka American) football fields (120 yards).
- mcalus3 4y ago
  It was sarcasm, no one uses anything like that outside of the US. Using football fields as a measure of distance is as "stupid american" meme around the world.
  - walthamstow 4y ago
    Most of the rest of the world assumes a soccer pitch when an American says a football field. They are basically the same length, so what exactly is your problem with using them as a marker for distance? We Brits have our own markers, e.g. the area of Wales or the volume of a double decker bus. They don't translate that easily either.
    - smcl 4y ago
      Interestingly the area of a football pitch has a pretty huge degree of tolerance - between 45-90m wide and 90-120m long - and iirc while they can be nearly square, they aren't allowed to be exactly square (i.e. you can't have a 90x90m pitch, but 90x91m is ok ... if a little unusual). At some point I believe the home team would adjust the width/length according to opponents' preferred tactics, but idk if that happens anymore.
      - walthamstow 4y ago
        There is no regulation football pitch in the world that is 45m wide. Where did you get this? UEFA regulations are tightly controlled. The pitch must be 100-105m long and 64-68m wide. FIFA have a wider tolerance (100-110m long) but that's probably because FIFA tournaments don't have home and away teams, whereas UEFA do.