1 foot is equal to 12 inches, 1/3 of a yard, or about 30.48 centimeters in metric units.
Guessing 1 foot in height may not be a problem for many of us. After all, you’ve probably spent countless hours around a ruler during your school years. However, if you forgot how long a foot-long ruler is, or if you don’t’ have time to fetch a ruler from your workbench, I’ll show you how you can estimate 1 foot by eye.
In this guide, I’ll list 9 everyday objects you can use as references for measuring 1 foot.
1 Footlong Subway
If you’ve ever visited a Subway shop before, you should be familiar with the footlong. A footlong subway sandwich is exactly what you would imagine—it’s a sandwich that measures 1 foot from end to end. Just hold the sandwich vertically to measure 1 foot in height.
While there have been disputes about whether or not Subway footlongs are actually a foot long, it’s been found that customers get pretty close to the full 12 inches. The toasting and packaging process of the sandwich may affect its overall shape and length, but Subway standards dictate that the bread roll must measure as close to 1 foot as possible.
Dollar Bills
The United States banknote, regardless of its denomination, measures 6.14 × 2.61 inches. So, whether you have a George Washington in your wallet or a Benjamin Franklin, you should know that to get to measure 1 foot, you’ll only need to place 2 dollar bills side by side to get there.
However, to measure 1 foot tall, you would need about 4.5 of them placed one on top of another horizontally to get pretty close to 1 foot in height. However, if you have US banknotes printed from before 1929, which measure 7.375 × 3.125 inches, you would need less than 4 of them to measure 1 foot in height.
2-Liter Soda Bottle
Here’s something many of you can probably use to easily measure 1 foot in height. If you have an old 2-liter Coca-Cola bottle in your recycling bin, you will find that it measures 1 foot with the lid.
However, if your local corner store only sells soft drinks in 1.5-liter bottles, you’ll need about 1.5 of them to reach 1 foot in height. That’s because 1.5-liter soda bottles are 5.5 inches in diameter and 8.8 inches in height.
2.5 Soda Cans
While we’re on the subject of soft drinks, you might want to familiarize yourself with the dimensions of a soda can. A typical 12-fluid-ounce can sold in the United States measures 2.6 inches at its widest point and 4.83 inches tall. So, to get to the 1-foot-high mark, you would need approximately 2.5 of these cans.
But what if your local supermarket only sells soft drinks in “tall and slim” 12-fluid-ounce cans? These cans measure 6.125 inches in height and 2.25 inches in diameter. So, you would only need slightly less than 2 of them to get to 1 foot.
2 Wine Glasses
Wine glasses come in a variety of sizes and styles. This is partially due to the fact that different wine glasses are made for different kinds of wine. For instance, a wine glass made for white wine is slightly smaller than that made for red wine since its narrower design helps preserve floral aromas.
On average, wine glasses measure 6 to 10 inches in height. So, you will have to envision stacking 2 6-inch white wine glasses on top of each other to reach 1 foot in height. Alternatively, you could use 1.2 10-inch red wine glasses, though measuring a fraction of a glass may be more difficult.
4 Crayons
Like other writing utensils, crayons come in various lengths and widths. On average, manufacturers make 3-inch-tall crayons. So, measuring 1 foot in height shouldn’t be a problem—just imagine that you’re stacking 4 of these crayons on top of each other.
There are stubbier crayons out there that are about 2.75 inches in length. If your child only has the stubby variety, you will have to take 4-1/3 of them to get to about 1 foot in height.
3 or 4 Cigarettes/Bic Lighters
Similar to crayons, different cigarette companies produce cigarettes at varying lengths. Filtered cigarettes typically measure 85 to 100 millimeters in length, which is the same as 3.34 to 3.93 inches. Also, a standard BIC Lighter is about the same length as a cigarette—3 inches and change.
So, whether you use cigarettes as your measurement reference or a Bic lighter, you will need between 3 and 4 of them to reach 12 inches in height. I would recommend using cigarettes as a tool for measuring, not for smoking.
Vinyl Floor Tiles
Vinyl floor tiles come in various sizes. The most common sizes are 9-inch, 12-inch, and 18-inch squares. There are also rectangular vinyl tiles, but more often than not, you’ll come across square ones in kitchens and bathrooms.
So, depending on the size of the tile, you will need 1-1/3, 1, or 2/3 of a 9-inch, 12-inch, or 18-inch vinyl tile, respectively.
1 Cast-Iron Skillet
If you’re a fan of frying, baking, or searing foods, then you might have a cast-iron skillet in your pantry right now. If you do, take a good look at the distance between two opposite ends of the skillet’s rim.
A typical cast-iron skillet for cooking and searing multiple food portions will measure at least 12 inches in diameter. That’s all you’ll need to envision measuring a 1-foot-tall object in your mind’s eye. Make sure not to include the length of the handle in your imagination.
Conclusion
And that concludes this guide on 9 things that measure 1 foot. Knowing how to measure 1 foot by eye will come in handy when working on a backyard garden or figuring out where to place furniture.
You might be familiar with most of the items I listed above, but if you have any other ideas, I’d love to read about them in the comments section. Also, make sure you share this article with your friends who can’t figure out how long 1 foot is.
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