A 40-inch-tall object measures 3-1/3 feet or slightly taller than a yard. Using the metric system, 40 inches is the same as 1.02 meters.
How do you go about estimating the height of a 40-inch-tall object without a ruler or tape measure? Simple: you envision a 40-inch-tall object and use it as a reference.
In today’s guide, I’ll show you 9 objects to give you an idea of how tall 40 inches is. They might come in handy when undergoing simple DIY home renovations or small-scale construction projects.
Baseball Bat
Anyone who’s played baseball before might have a pretty good idea of how long a bat is. According to the official rulebook of the MLB, a baseball bat cannot measure longer than 42 inches in length.
So, the tallest bat you can find might only be 2 inches longer than the 40 inches you’re trying to measure. But please note that some baseball bats can measure around 30 inches—in which case you’ll need 1 and a third of them to visualize 40 inches tall.
8 Shoeboxes
Check in your closet to see whether or not you have any extra shoeboxes lying around. If you do, you can use it to measure 40-inch-tall objects.
On average, a shoebox’s dimensions are 14 × 8 × 5 inches (L × W × H). So, height-wise, it would take you about 8 shoeboxes to reach the 40-inch mark. If you’re laying them side by side lengthwise, you’ll need slightly more than 2 boxes to get to 40 inches.
Of course, the size of your shoebox might depend on the size of the shoe. For instance, Shaq wears size 22 shoes that cover his 16-inch-long feet. So, the boxes might measure 20-plus inches to accommodate his massive shoes!
2 Coffee Tables
Like shoes, coffee tables come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. But unlike shoes, there’s typically one coffee table height that works best for most people.
The average coffee table measures 16 to 18 inches in length. To measure 40 inches using the height of a coffee table, you’ll need roughly 2 to 2.5 average coffee tables to get there.
8 Soda Cans
Soda cans can come in all sorts of sizes, but the standard 12-fluid-ounce can that you and I are probably most accustomed to measure 4.83 inches in height. So, measuring 40 inches in height using soda cans, assuming they’re not flattened yet, would require around 8 of them.
However, there are such things as “tall and slim” 12-fluid-ounce soda cans, which measure 6.125 inches tall. If you only have tall and slim soda cans as your reference, it’ll take about 6.5 of them stacked on top of each other to reach the 40-inch-tall mark.
6.5 Dollar Bills
Take a look inside your wallet and see whether you have a few US dollar bills in there. If you do, a dollar bill should be 6.14 inches by 2.61 inches.
If you were to lie 6.5 dollar bills side by side, it will take just about 6.5 of them to measure 40 inches.
But which denomination should you use? As long as the dollar bill was printed after 1923, it won’t matter. $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills are all the same size!
3-1/3 Backscratchers
If you have an itch on your back, the best way to get rid of it is to use a backscratcher. These everyday objects are made of all sorts of materials, but what matters most is how it is.
On average, backscratchers measure between 12 and 24 inches. So, if you have a foot-long backscratcher, you would need 3-1/3 of them to measure 40 inches in height. If you have a 2-footer, it would take just 1-2/3 of them to get the full 40 inches.
Alternatively, you could use 2 24-inch backscratchers and subtract 2 hand widths. A single hand width is usually around 4 inches wide in adult males and around 3.5 inches in females.
4 Basketballs
Basketballs are available in multiple sizes. Children usually play size 3, 5, and 6 balls that measure between 22.5 and 28.5 inches in diameter.
However, if you have a size 7 basketball, it should measure 9.5 inches in diameter and weigh between 7.5 and 8.5 pounds.
So, using size 7 basketballs, you would need slightly more than 4 of them to get to the 40-inch-tall mark. If you use a WNBA-approved size 6 basketball that’s roughly 9 inches in diameter, it will take 4.5 of them to get to the same height.
2 40-inch TVs
Some of the most common TV sizes are 32, 40, and 42 inches. However, what you should know is that these figures refer to the diagonal length of the screen, not its actual physical dimensions. Also, the physical dimensions are dependent on the screen’s aspect ratio.
Anyway, assuming you have a 40-inch TV with a 16:9 aspect ratio, it should measure 19.6 inches in height, which we’ll round up to 20 inches. So, to get the full 40 inches, you’ll need to visualize placing one on top of the other.
If your TV is a different size, you can use a screen size calculator to measure the size of your TV without getting a ruler.
3.5 Sheets of A4 Paper
If you have a sheet of paper lying around, the odds of it being A4 is pretty high. An A4 sheet of paper measures 8.5 × 11 inches.
Measuring 40 inches is manageable if you have 3.5 A4 sheets lying around. Or you could take 4 sheets and imagine cutting off the top 4 inches, which, again, is about equal to the width of your hand.
Conclusion
The 9 objects I described above can serve as pretty good references for measuring 40 inches in height. You might even have more than one of the things above next to or in front of you right now!
If you found this article helpful, please make sure you let your friends know by sharing it on your social media page. Also, I’d love to hear what other things you think would be good references for measuring 40 inches in the comments section below.
Leave a Reply