One of the most interesting websites I found on the internet is “Scale of the Universe”. For those who don’t know, it’s website where you can scroll up or down to learn about the smallest and largest entities in the universe. Here’s a link if you’re interested. This Wednesday, I decided to single out the most interesting things I found on the website and talk about them. Let’s start with one of the first things I noticed.
I had no idea that dodo birds were that big. I’ve always assumed that they would go up my knee or something. I can’t believe people hunted them down to extinction; I missed out on a great meal!
After the dodo, I started scrolling up. I didn’t thing anything would freak me out, but I was wrong.
Yeah, there’s a species of bacteria that’s bigger than ants. I don’t know if they can infect humans, but I’m not taking the chance. We should gather up a bunch of hand sanitizer and pour it all into those swamps. I’m sure that won’t have any negative consequences.
Yes, the vast majority of an atom is empty space. I had already known that, but this website reminded me. By that logic, us humans are mostly made up of empty space. I guess that’s what other people meant when they called me an airhead.
I eventually made it to the two smallest entities in the universe.
Even the website itself admits that these numbers are mere estimations. Hell, the existence of quantum foam and strings is only theoretical. It’s the 21st century and there’s still a lot we don’t know about the universe. I guess it would be kind of boring to live in a world where everything is already figured out.
Once I reached the end, I started scrolling down. I found this thing.
Geez, that thing looks like a monster from a horror game. Why do so many people want to vacation in Japan? Is the merchandise really worth it? Then again, my room could use more Pokemon dolls…
Do you want Godzilla? Because that’s how you get Godzilla. Then again, I’m not a nuclear physicist, so maybe there’s something I’m missing. Maybe we’ll get a heroic Godzilla, not an evil or feral one.
As I kept scrolling down, I started seeing moons, planets and suns. The Minecraft world felt a bit out of place.
I suppose the sheer size of the Minecraft World is a part of the appeal. Every gamer has eventually hit a (visible or invisible) wall that prevented them from exploring further. What if there was no limit to where you could go?
People would still try to find the limit. Pleasing everyone is truly a fool’s errand.
Voyager 1 truly lives up to its name. Imagine if you could actually ride it. It would probably be boring most of the time, but you’d see something impressive once in a while.
I once heard a theory that, if you kept travelling in one direction through space, you’d eventually make it back where you started. It would be funniest thing ever if Voyager 1 returned with a carton of milk.
Having gone further, I made it to nebulae; giant clouds of gas and dust. Some of the have cool names, like “Orion Nebula” or “Pillars of Creation”. Others had goofy names, like “"Crab Nebula” or “Ant Nebula”. This was the goofiest one:
C’mon, astronomers, you’re making it hard for me to be in awe of the universe. Call it something like “Sulphur Mine Nebula” or “Chemical Warfare World”. As someone who never touched a telescope in his life, I’m sure I know better than you.
Since I showed you the two smallest things on the website, it only makes sense to show you the two biggest things. If I remember correctly, Hercules once held the entire sky on his shoulders, so that name checks out. The Ancient Greeks never knew how impressive that feat actually is.
And that’s it for today. There’s a lot of entities on that websites that I haven’t talked about. If there’s something interesting that I missed, let me know.