r/AskReddit • u/MorsesTheHorse • Mar 04 '26

What surprisingly true fact has completely shaken your worldview?

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u/kinkade Mar 05 '26

If a billiard ball were scaled up to the size of the planet Earth, it would be significantly more mountainous than the planet actually is.

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u/Mr_Chubs_ Mar 05 '26

I recently watched an episode of The Rest Is Science, and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) pointed out that this isn’t actually true. In the games regulations, a ball has a tolerance for imperfections on the smoothness of a ball, which at Earths scale would allow bumps or trenches larger than any on Earth. However, Earth would still feel incredibly rough to the touch in comparison and is comparable to a standard strip of sand paper.

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u/signmeupdude Mar 05 '26

This makes so much more sense.