The longer the distance, the more difficult it becomes to gauge it by eye. 90 feet is the same as 30 yards or 27.432 meters, but that doesn’t help much in visualizing this distance. If you don’t have a laser measure, you can use the next best thing: common objects as references.
Here’s a list of everyday objects that are 90 feet long or tall or close to it:
- Blue whale
- 3-4 school buses
- 1-1/2 bowling lanes
- 1/3 football field
- 2 football goal posts
- 3 giraffes
- 2-3 weeping willows
- 5 Ford F-150s
- 16 people
1. Blue Whale
Blue whales are aquatic mammals whose diets consist primarily of krill. These massive animals are well-known for their extraordinary migration patterns, which lasts for 4 months and involves traveling thousands of miles. Sadly, blue whales are listed as endangered, with a population of between 10,000 and 25,000 left.
The size of blue whales usually reaches lengths of 30 meters or around 98 feet. They can weigh as much as 200 tons, and its tongue alone makes up 2.7 tons of that. These gentle giants usually live to 70 to 90 years.
2. 3-4 School Buses
School buses are those yellow buses that transport school children from specific stops to their schools. Their distinctive yellow color is chosen for safety and visibility. At max capacity, you can expect a single school bus to carry as many as 90 students at a time. However, it ultimately depends on the type of school bus.
Different types of buses will have different sizes. Type C school buses are the type most people think of when they hear “school bus.” This bus measures between 20.9 and 38.9 feet long and up to 8 feet wide. Park 3 of them end to end, and you’ll have a total length of around 90 feet.
3. 1-1/2 Bowling Lanes
Are you a fan of bowling? If so, then you’ll probably know that bowling lanes consist of 39 boards. There are specific markings on the boards to help players aim their throw and knock down the pins. Those boards are polished to a shine, so make sure you don’t step on the lane!
Bowling lanes measure 60 feet in length, so 1-1/2 of them should get you to the 90-foot mark. If you thought throwing a ball down a lane to knock down pins was easy, try aiming at a target 60 feet away and see how well you do.
4. 1/3 Football Field
American football fields have white lines painted throughout its length. The yard lines tell the players how far away they are from the end zone and where they need to take the ball to return to the first down. The farthest touchdown pass in the history of the NFL, which was 99 yards, was achieved by Eli Manning to Victor Cruz back in 2011.
The 99-yard touchdown pass achievement sounds a lot more impressive when you know that the field measures 100 yards long. The 90-foot mark, which is also the 30-yard line, is somewhere near the third of the field from the endzone.
5. 2 Football Goal Posts
While we’re still on the subject of American football, let’s take a look at the goal posts. These posts are where the placekicker aims the football in order to score a field goal and extra points. Philadelphia is notorious for greasing their goal posts to prevent rushing fans from climbing them.
The goal post consists of 2 main parts: the crossbar 10 feet above the ground and 2 vertical uprights on either end of the crossbar, measuring 35 feet high. In total, goalposts measure 45 feet in height, so one on top of another would be 90 feet.
6. 3 Giraffes
The next time you visit your local zoo, make sure to stop by the giraffe exhibit. Giraffes are the world’s tallest mammals, with the majority of its height localized in their necks. Their incredibly long necks help these tall beasts reach the highest leaves, but they also use them when duking it out on the savanna.
Giraffes stand at a mighty 14 to 18 feet high. Imagine stacking 3 giraffes, and you’ll see what 90 feet almost looks like. The tallest giraffe in recorded history stood 19 feet high or 1 foot higher than its tallest peers.
7. 2-3 Weeping Willows
If there’s one plant that isn’t afraid to show its emotions, it’s the weeping willow. This tree is known for its drooping branches, which give it its signature appearance of despair. It could also be a sign of overwatering, but even a healthy weeping willow will have some level of sadness to it.
Weeping willows stand between 30 and 50 feet tall. That means about 2 or 3 of them will help you visualize a height of 90 feet.
8. 5 Ford F-150s
The top-selling pickup truck in all of the US is the Ford F-150. It made its debut in 1975 and has become a symbol of ruggedness and heavy-duty towing. If you’re interested in picking up an F-150, you might want to consider the Lightning version, which is the F-150’s take of an electric truck.
The F-150 has seen some pretty significant changes over the years, but its length remains relatively the same. This pickup measures about 209 inches long or 17.4 feet. 5 of them parked end to end should get you pretty close to 90 feet.
9. 16 People
Who says you can’t use people to measure things? Well, as long as you stick to the average height of a person—5 feet 9 inches for men and 5 feet 4 inches for women—you’ll have a much easier time. Sure, it may not be practical, but it can be somewhat easy to visualize stacking people on top of each other.
To reach 90 feet in average height human terms, you’d need 16 people standing on each other’s heads. Let’s put that into perspective: the tallest human pyramid recorded by Guinness consisted of 9 layers and stood 39 feet high.
