Things that are 40 feet tall – Do You Know Them?

Things that are 40 feet tall

40 feet is the equivalent of 480 inches and 33-1/3 yards. In metric terms, that’s a sliver under 12.2 meters.

How difficult is it to measure 40 feet in height if you don’t have a tape measure or a clinometer? I’ll be frank with you—it can be pretty hard. That is, unless you can envision 40-foot-tall objects in your mind.

Today, I’ll show you eight things that are 40 feet tall that you can use as a reference.

Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus

If you studied dinosaurs at school or during your free time, then you’ve probably heard of the brachiosaurus. For those that haven’t, it’s one of the largest dinosaurs that has ever been found.

In fact, the largest complete dinosaur fossils ever discovered and mounted belongs to a brachiosaurus. This particular fossil stands 43 feet tall in height, which is just about the length of a baseball bat taller than 40 feet.

Whenever you have the time, you should visit the 150-million-year-old fossil at the Berlin National History Museum. At the very least, it’ll help you visualize how tall 40-ish feet is.

Hollywood Sign

Hollywood Sign

Anyone in the Hollywood area probably has a good idea of how tall the iconic Hollywood sign is. If you don’t, just bear in mind that each of the letters measures 45 feet in height, which is roughly the height of a medium-sized Christmas tree taller than 40 feet.

Interestingly enough, if you ever get the chance to stand right next to the W of the Hollywood sign, you’ll discover that this single letter is 39 feet and 9 inches in width—just three inches short of the 40-foot mark.

The Hollywood sign was first built in 1923. It first read “Hollywoodland” but was reduced by four letters to advertise a housing development just above the Hollywood district.

Flag Pole

Flag Pole

Citizens of the United States should know that there are several laws that regulate how to appropriately display the American Flag. You have to be very careful about how high you raise it and what size flag you use.

While the flag pole can be range from six to 130 feet, one of the most commonly seen heights is exactly 40 feet in height. Such a pole should have a flag that measures between 5 × 8 feet and 8 × 12 feet.

4-Story Building

4-Story Building

Homeowners are free to collaborate with their architects to design their homes however way they see fit. However, on average, most homes in the United States have a ceiling height of between eight and nine feet.

As for the height of a single-story building, it typically ranges from nine and ten feet. So, to get to the 40-foot mark, just envision a four-story building wherever you want to measure 40 feet in height.

Since each floor is about ten feet in height, if it’s easier for you, you can imagine stacking four single-story buildings or two two-story buildings to get to 40 feet.

Utility Pole

Utility Pole

Utility poles are wooden, metal, concrete, or composite columns that typically stand on the edge six feet behind the curb of a road. They deliver power from a utility company to buildings all over the city.

Like flag poles, utility poles can range in height, starting from 20 feet all the way up to 100 feet. The standard utility pole stands 35 feet tall, but it’s not uncommon to find 40-foot utility poles in neighborhoods across the country.

The odds of seeing a utility pole in the United States are quite high. For many of us, we simply have to look out our home or apartment windows to catch a glimpse of a 35- to 40-foot-tall utility pole.

16 50-kilogram Cement Sacks

16 50-kilogram Cement Sacks

If you’re planning on building a backyard barbecue pit or fire pit, then you probably have plans to mix cement, sand, aggregate, and water to make mortar or concrete. If this is the case, then don’t tear into the cement bags just yet!

50-kilogram cement bag, which weighs roughly 110.23 pounds, measures about 30 × 20 × 4 inches (L × W × H). To measure 40 feet tall, try to imagine standing 16 50-kilogram cement sacks on top of each other. Alternatively, you can stack 120 of them horizontally to get to 40 feet.

Of course, the condition of the cement sack will play a role in how many bags it’ll take to measure 40 feet.

Maple Tree

Maple Tree

Maple trees are pretty common in many states, including Minnesota, Texas, and Florida. While maple trees can grow to a height of 148 feet, you’ll likely encounter middle-aged trees ranging from 35 to 45 feet in height.

Again, you can use a mid-sized Christmas tree as a reference for 5 feet to add or subtract to the height of the maple tree in your backyard or the park.

Volleyball Nets

Volleyball Nets

Volleyball can be an enjoyable sport for many, whether you play it competitively at the beach or for leisure in your backyard. But if you’re going to set up a volleyball the right way, at least according to the International Volleyball Federation, you’ll have to pay close attention to the net’s height.

According to the IVF, the top of the volleyball net should be 2.24 meters high for women and 2.43 meters for women. In Standard Imperial, this translates to 7 feet 4 inches and 7 feet 11 inches, respectively.

So, to visualize a 40-foot-tall building using volleyball nets as your standard, it’ll take between 5 and 5.5 IVF-standard volleyball nets.

Conclusion

The eight things I listed above can give you a pretty good idea of how to measure 40 feet in height by eye. This may come in handy when you want to build a house from scratch or know how high you’ve traveled up multiple staircases.

If anything in this guide has been useful, make sure your friends know about it. And if you have any thoughts on other objects that measure 40 feet tall, I’d love to read about it in the comments below.

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BaronCooke

Baron Cooke has been writing and editing for 7 years. He grew up with an aptitude for geometry, statistics, and dimensions. He has a BA in construction management and also has studied civil infrastructure, engineering, and measurements. He is the head writer of measuringknowhow.com

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