what does a million pennies look like?
DESCRIPTION
To be filthy rich these days you can't simply claim to have a million dollars to your name—you have to lay claim to a billion dollars. Even a billion pennies is a lot.TRANSCRIPT
One Penny
1
One penny. Most people in North America have seen themand you probably have one in your pocket right now.
Using this small metal disk, with a size and weight familiarto almost everyone, let's take the next step.
value 1¢, (one cent)
width 0.75 inches, (3/4 of an inch)
height 0.75 inches, (3/4 of an inch)
thickness 0.0625 inches, (1/16 of an inch)
weight 0.1 ounces, (1/10 of an ounce)
area 0.5625 square inches
How about sixteen? >>
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Sixteen Pennies
or
16
Every journey begins with a single step. So, to get to big numbers, youhave to start small. Lay sixteen pennies in a line and you have one foot, stackthem and you have an inch. Okay, so much for the small numbers - let's move up.
value 16¢, (sixteen cents)
width (side-by-side) 12 inches, (one foot)
height (stacked) 1 inch
thickness 0.0625 inches, (1/16 of an inch)
weight 1.6 ounces
area (laid flat) 9 square inches
Let's see a Thousand >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
The MegaPenny Projectby kokogiak media
Visualizing huge numbers can be very difficult. People regularly talk about millions ofmiles, billions of bytes, or trillions of dollars, yet it's still hard to grasp just how much a"billion" really is. The MegaPenny Project aims to help by taking one small everyday item,the U.S. penny, and building on that to answer the question: "What would a billion (or atrillion) pennies look like?"
All the following pages have tables at the bottom, listing things such as the value of thepennies, size of the pile, weight, and area (if laid flat). All weights and measurements areU.S. standards, not metric.
It's best to step through the project starting from the beginning, but if you'd like to justjump in, links are available below.
Enter the MegaPenny Project
Pages, in order:• One penny• Sixteen pennies• One Thousand pennies• Fifty Thousand pennies• One Hundred Thousand pennies• One Million pennies• Ten Million pennies• One Hundred Million pennies• One Billion pennies• Ten Billion pennies• One Hundred Billion pennies• Pennies Currently in circulation• One Trillion pennies• One Trillion (part II)• Empire State Building• Sears Tower• One Quadrillion pennies• One Quintillion pennies• Index, Table and Links• MegaMoo - a special bonus section
Various Awards
02.07.2002(again)
Yediot Aharonot04.15.2001
03.24.2001
startsiden.no 03.23.01 Guardian UK Web Watch 03.22.01 03.14.2001
One Thousand Pennies
1,000[5 pennies wide x 5 pennies high x 40 pennies tall]
A thousand pennies is only $10.00 worth of pennies, yet it weighs oversix pounds. Now let's put together a cubic foot made of these copper (3%)and zinc (97%) coins.
value $10.00, (Ten dollars and no cents)
width 3.75 inches
height 3.75 inches
thickness 2.5 inches
weight 100 ounces, (6.25 pounds)
height stacked 62.4 inches, (5.2 feet)
area (laid flat) 562.5 square inches (3.9 square feet)
Let's build a 12-inch cube >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
Fifty Thousand Pennies
49,152Forty-nine thousand one hundred and fifty-two Pennies
[16w x 16h x 192 tall] - one cubic foot.
Three hundred pounds of pennies. Remember the stack of 16 pennies?It was one inch tall. Well, take 12 of those and stack them and you'll havea one-foot-tall stack. The cube above is made up of 256 of those one-footstacks, making one cubic foot of pennies.
Remember this cube, since it will be the building block for all upcomingpenny-structures you see in these pages. Now let's double it.
value $491.52(Four hundred ninety-one dollars and fifty-twocents)
width 12 inches, (one foot)
height 12 inches, (one foot)
thickness 12 inches, (one foot)
weight 4,915.2 ounces, (307.2 pounds)
height stacked 3,072 inches, (256 feet)
area (laid flat) 192 square feet
OK, now a Hundred Thousand Pennies >>
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One Hundred Thousand Pennies
98,304Ninety-eight thousand three hundred and four Pennies
[ Two cubic feet ]
Doubling our 50,000 pennies to 100,000, we now have two one-foot cubes.Given, this wasn't a big jump, but now we're going to start climbing thenumerical ladder by powers of ten. Ever wonder what a million pennieswould look like?
value $983.04(Nine hundred eighty-three dollars and four cents)
width 24 inches, (two feet)
height 12 inches, (one foot)
thickness 12 inches, (one foot)
weight 614.4 pounds
height stacked 512 feet
area (laid flat) 384 square feet
One Million... >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Million Pennies
1,003,776One million, three thousand, seven hundred and seventy-six Pennies[ A wall five by four by one feet thick with a 9-inch cube stepstool ]
Say hello to our friend Graham. Now that the pennies have really begun to pile up,he'll be standing in for scale. Graham is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and he weighsabout 180 pounds, or about 35 times less than the 1 million pennies stacked besidehim. Next step, Ten million.
value $10,037.76(Ten thousand, thirty-seven dollarsand seventy-six cents)
width Four feet
height Five feet
thickness 12 inches, (one foot)
weight 6273.6 pounds (3.14 tons)
height stacked 5,228 feet ( 0.99 Miles )
area (laid flat) 3,921 square feet
How about Ten Million? >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
Ten Million Pennies
10,017,024Ten million, seventeen thousand and twenty-four Pennies
[ A cube 6 x 6 x 6 feet ]
Ten Million cents. If you laid these all out flat, side-by-side, like ahuge carpet of pennies, it would nearly cover one acre. Click herefor a look at 100,000,000 copper disks.
value $100,170.24(One hundred thousand, one hundredseventy dollars and twenty-four cents)
width Six feet
height Six feet
thickness Six feet
weight 31.3 tons
height stacked 9.88 Miles
area (laid flat) 39,129 square feet (0.9 acres)
One Hundred Million Pennies? >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Hundred Million Pennies
100,016,640One hundred million, sixteen thousand, six hundred and forty Pennies
[ Two cubes, one 12x12x12 feet, the other 7x7x7 feet ]
Since these cubes are mostly dense metal, their weight is impressive. Onehundred million pennies weighs over 300 tons. For comparison, the largest livinganimal, the Blue Whale, weighs less than 150 tons as an adult.
When you hear talk of "billions" of something (dollars, miles, people, etc), it'shard to visualize. But up next, we have a visual for you - one billion pennies.
value $1,000,166.40(One million, one hundred sixty-sixdollars and forty cents)
width 12 feet (7 feet)
height 12 feet (7 feet)
thickness 12 feet (7 feet)
total weight 312.5 tons
height stacked 99 Miles
area (laid flat) 390,690 square feet (9 acres)
One Billion with a "B" >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Billion Pennies
1,000,018,176One billion, eighteen thousand, one hundred and seventy-six Pennies
[ Five school buses. ]
Each of these blocks represents one 9x11x41 foot school bus - as seen below. If you wereto stack all these pennies in a single pile, one atop the other, the stack would reach nearly onethousand miles high. For comparison, note that the Space Shuttle typically orbits only 225 milesabove the Earth's surface.
Only in North America and the general scientific community is this number (1,000,000,000) calleda "billion". Most European countries call this number either "one thousand million" or,in some cases, a "milliard". Enough international confusion, let's move on to ten billion.
value $10,000,181.76(Ten million, one hundred eighty-onedollars and seventy-six cents)
width 45 feet
height 11 feet
thickness 41 feet
total weight 3,125 tons
height stacked 987 Miles
area (laid flat) 3,906,321 square feet (89.7 acres)
Next, Ten Billion Cents >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
Ten Billion Pennies
10,000,023,552Ten billion, twenty-three thousand, five hundred and fifty-two Pennies
[ Fifty school buses (as defined previously). ]
Current estimates place the world's population at six billion people. The pile of penniesabove would then be nearly enough for two pennies for every person on Earth. The U.S.Mintcurrently manufactures about this many pennies every year.
In the image above, Graham and his ten billion coins are now standing on a standard U.S.football field (360 x 160 feet) for further scale. Next up, the hundred-billion cube.
value $100,000,235.52(One hundred million, two hundred thirty-fivedollars and fifty-two cents)
width 90 feet
height 11 feet
thickness 205 feet
total weight 31,250 tons
height stacked 9,864 Miles
area (laid flat) 897 acres
One Hundred Billion Pennies >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Hundred Billion Pennies
100,017,659,336One hundred billion, seventeen million, six hundred fifty-nine thousand
three hundred and thirty-six Pennies[ One cube measuring 127 x 127 x 127 feet ]
If you took these hundred billion pennies and laid them out like a carpet, you could cover 14square miles. Compare that to Manhattan Island, which measures 22 square miles.
The cube you see above is made up of over 4.1 million stacks of 24,330 pennies. Now, weare getting close to the limits of existing pennies. How many pennies do you think arecurrently in circulation?
value $1,000,176,593.36(One billion, one hundred seventy-six thousandfive hundred and ninety-three dollars andthirty-six cents)
width 126.72 feet
height 126.72 feet
thickness 126.72 feet
total weight 312,555.2 tons
height stacked 98,660 Miles
area (laid flat) 8,969 acres
Total Pennies now in circulation >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
Two Hundred Billion Pennies
200,035,318,672Two hundred billion, thirty-five million, three hundred eighteen thousand
six hundred and seventy-two Pennies[ Two cubes, each measuring 127 x 127 x 127 feet ]
Current estimates by the U.S. Mint place the number of pennies in circulation at around140 billion. Others have estimated as many as 200 billion currently circulating. Since thefirst penny was minted in 1787, until present-day, over 300 billion pennies have been mintedin the United States. So that leaves about 100 billion pennies that have been retired by theMint, lost down sewer drains, stored in jars, smashed by trains, or collected by numismatistsin the past 200 years.
Now that we have reached the limits of what actually exists, let's move beyond, and intothe Trillions.
value $2,000,353,186.72(Two billion, three hundred fifty-three thousandone hundred and eighty-six dollars andseventy-two cents)
width 253.44 feet
height 126.72 feet
thickness 126.72 feet
total weight 625,110.4 tons
height stacked 197,320 Miles
area (laid flat) 17,938 acres
Into the abstract, One Trillion Pennies >>
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One Trillion Pennies
1,000,000,016,640One trillion, sixteen thousand six hundred and forty Pennies
[ One cube measuring 273 x 273 x 273 feet ]
The same football field as the last two pages, set beside our new cube for scale. Noticeour friend Graham, still barely visible as a speck at lower left.
Let's look at this new cube a little more closely to get a better idea of its size.
value $10,000,000,166.40(Ten billion, one hundred andsixty-six dollars and forty cents)
width 273 feet
height 273 feet
thickness 273 feet
total weight 3,125,000 tons
height stacked 986,426 Miles
area (laid flat) 89,675.2 acres
Further Comparisons -- How a trillion pennies stacks up >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Trillion Pennies (part II)
1,000,000,016,640One trillion, sixteen thousand six hundred and forty Pennies
[ One cube measuring 273 x 273 x 273 feet ]
From right to left (to scale), we have the same old football field, then the LincolnMemorial (yes, the one pictured on the back of the penny), then the WashingtonMonument (555 feet tall), then our cube of one trillion pennies, then the EmpireState Building (1,250 feet tall), then the Sears Tower (1,450 feet tall).
So, now, the question you're dying to ask: How many Pennies would it take to fillthe Empire State Building?
value $10,000,000,166.40(Ten billion, one hundred andsixty-six dollars and forty cents)
width 273 feet
height 273 feet
thickness 273 feet
total weight 3,125,000 tons
height stacked 986,426 Miles
area (laid flat) 89,675.2 acres
Guess how many Pennies... >>
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The Empire State Building -- 1.8 Trillion Pennies
1,818,624,000,000One trillion, eight hundred eighteen billion, six hundred
twenty-four million Pennies
New york's Empire State Building contains 37 million cubic feet of space (minusthe antenna structure). Using our cubic foot of pennies (49,152 total), it's just a simplemultiplication problem - 37,000,000 x 49,152 = 1,818,624,000,000 pennies.
Now what about America's tallest structure, the Sears Tower?
value $18,186,240,000.00(Eighteen billion, one hundred eighty-six million, two hundred fortythousand dollars and zero cents)
total weight 5,683,200 tons
height stacked 1,793,939 Miles
area (laid flat) 163,085 acres
On to Chicago... >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
The Sears Tower -- 2.6 Trillion Pennies
2,623,684,608,000Two trillion, six hundred twenty-three billion, sixhundred eighty-four million six hundred and eight
thousand Pennies
Chicago's Sears Tower occupies 53.4 million cubic feet of space. Usingour cubic foot of pennies (49,152 total), it's once again just anothermultiplication problem - 53,379,000 x 49,152 = 2,623,684,608,000 pennies.
Okay, enough with the buildings, let's take a giant leap forward. What woulda cube of one quadrillion pennies look like?
value $26,236,846,080.00(Twenty-six billion, two hundred thirty-sixmillion,eight hundred forty-six thousand andeighty dollars)
total weight 8,199,014 tons
height stacked 2,588,073 Miles
area (laid flat) 235,279.3 acres
Now a Quadrillion >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Quadrillion Pennies
1,000,067,088,384,000One quadrillion, sixty-seven billion, eighty-eight million,
three hundred and eighty-four thousand Pennies[ One cube measuring 2,730 x 2,730 x 2,730 feet ]
Here we have the buildings we used for scale back at a trillion, but they're now a bit dwarfed by our new cube of pennies. This is a quadrillion, or a thousand times one trillion.This cube is roughly a half-mile wide and would weigh an astonishing three billion tons.
Okay, now for our final big number - one quintillion.
value $10,000,670,883,840.00(Ten trillion, six hundred seventy million, eight hundredeighty-three thousand, eight hundred and forty dollarsand zero cents)
width 2,730 feet
height 2,730 feet
thickness 2,730 feet
total weight 3,125,000,000 tons
height stacked 986,426,768 Miles
area (laid flat) 89,675,161 acres
Our final cube >>
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One Quintillion Pennies
1,000,067,088,384,000,000One quintillion, sixty-seven trillion, eighty-eight billion,
three hundred and eighty-four million Pennies[ One cube measuring 27,300 x 27,300 x 27,300 feet ]
Now we've stepped up another factor of 1,000. One quintillion pennies. This many pennies,if laid out flat like a carpet, would cover the surface of the earth - twice. If you look hard,you can still see the Sears Tower and other buildings at lower right. Another way to see it isto realize that Mt. Everest (29,000 ft.) is only 1,700 feet taller than this 27,300-foot cube.
This is as far as we will go. Three trillion tons of pennies is quite enough. To imaginelarger cubes, (stepping by factors of 1,000), just imagine cubes roughly ten times larger thanthe last one. For instance, one quintillion pennies makes the cube above - about 5 miles oneach side. If you step up to one sextillion, imagine a cube about 50 miles wide tall and thick.
Thanks for visiting the MegaPenny Project. You can find further related links and a table ofnamed "very big numbers" on our index page.
value $10,000,670,883,840,000.00(Ten quadrillion, six hundred seventy billion,eight hundred eighty-three million, eight hundredand forty thousand dollars and zero cents)
width 27,300 feet
height 27,300 feet
thickness 27,300 feet
total weight 3,125,000,000,000 tons
The MegaPenny ProjectHome
Kokogiak Media
• Don't miss the latest - special MegaPenny bonus section, MegaMoo.
Big Numbers Links:• Big Numbers (list one)• Big Numbers (list two)• Dots - from one to one million• Ask Dr. Math - big numbers
Pennies Links:• CopperCoins.com - a 'Web Resource for all US Copper Coin Collectors'.• The United States Mint• People who want to do away with pennies• People who want to keep pennies around• Smashed pennies• Would you rather be paid one million dollars today, - or - would you rather be paid one penny today (1¢), twice that tomorrow (2¢), twice that the next (4¢), etc. for 30 days? Find out here
Table of Very Big Numbers (from 1 to 10120)one 1
ten 10
hundred 100
thousand 1,000
million 1,000,000
billion 1,000,000,000
trillion 1,000,000,000,000
quadrillion 1,000,000,000,000,000
quintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
sextillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
septillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
octillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
nonillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
decillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
undecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
duodecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
tredecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quattuordecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quindecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
sexdecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
septendecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
octodecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
novemdecillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
vigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
unvigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
duovigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
trevigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quattuorvigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quinvigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
sexvigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
septenvigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
octovigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
novemvigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
trigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
untrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
duotrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
googol (google) 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
tretrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quattuortrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quintrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
sextrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
septentrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
octotrigintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One Million Cows?Welcome to MegaMoo, a bonus section of the MegaPenny Project
1One Holstein Cow
Here's Harriet, our model cow. She's an average adult Holstein, 4 1/2 feet tall, about6 feet long from nose to rump, and about 3 feet wide. Harriet also weighs in at a healthy 1,500 pounds.Yes we're dealing with cows now, and not pennies. Why? Well, why not?
Next up - Five Friendly Cows.
value Priceless, just look at her.
width 3 feet
height 4.5 feet
length 6 feet
total weight 1,500 pounds
height stacked 4.5 feet
Cinco Vacas >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Million Cows?
5Five Holstein Cows
Harriet has brought in four more of her good friends. Since we're going to bestacking these hapless cows in the near future, we're encasing them in nice littleforce-field boxes (don't worry, they can breathe just fine).
Next - Seventy-two Curious Cows.
value Priceless
width 15 feet
height 4.5 feet
length 6 feet
total weight 7,500 pounds
height stacked 22.5 feet
288 hooves >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Million Cows?
72Seventy-two Holstein Cows
Now we're talking about a lot of cows. Luckily they stack nicely in their little boxes, otherwise itwould be hard to see them all at once. These 72 cows lined up nose-to-tail would be 432 feet longAs it is, these cows stack up into a neat cube that is 18 feet wide tall and deep.
Next - MegaMoo (1,000,000 cows).
value Priceless
width 18 feet
height 18 feet
length 18 feet
total weight 54 tons
height stacked 324 feet
One Million Cows >>
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©copyright 2001 kokogiak media
One Million Cows!
1,002,240One million, two thousand, two hundred and forty Holstein Cows
Here is Harriet and her million closest cow friends. Over 750,000 tons of grass-munching, milk-givinganimals on 4,008,960 hooves. They are lined up 96 cows tall, 145 cows wide and 72 cows deep.
For some perspective, we have them stackednext to our two famous skyscrapers: The EmpireState Building (1,250 feet) and the Sears Tower(1,450 feet) (at right).
Thanks for visiting MegaMoo, you may now resteasy. knowing what a million cows would look like.
Back to - MegaPenny Project.
value Priceless
width 435 feet
height 432 feet
length 432 feet
total weight 751,680 tons
height stacked 852 miles
back to megapenny, MegaMoo 1, MegaMoo 2, MegaMoo 3
©copyright 2001 kokogiak media