/r/estimation
Ever wondered what the rate of gummi bear combustion needed to power a lawn mower is?
How fast do you need to throw a burrito to make it spontaneously ignite?
A subreddit dedicated to one of the most useful skills in life. Estimation.
This subreddit is dedicated to taking a stab at answering hypothetical, interesting and often untestable questions. In reality, you're never going to get a perfect answer. Some things just can't be tested. That's why estimation is such a valuable skill.
The following types of posts are allowed:
Links to reddit posts related to estimation. Please include the actual estimation in the post title. Example
Requests for estimations as long as they have the [Request] tag in the title. Self posts are preferred. Example
Links to websites related to estimation.
When fulfilling requests
List all assumptions made
Link to sources wherever possible
Use SI units for your final answer
Don't downvote because someone's answer is different. As long as they have made appropriate assumptions and done their calculations correctly, their answer is valid.
Reference dimensions
Wolfram Alpha (Mobile version doesn't have ads)
Length of an everyday car: 4.4 m
Weight of an everyday car: 1300 kg
Length of a football field: 100 m
Volume of an Olympic swimming pool: 2,500 m3
Muzzle velocity of a round fired from a 9 mm Glock 17: 375 m/s or 1,350 km/h
Estimation strategies:
Other related subreddits:
/r/estimation
14,877 Subscribers
The ultimate question
The very existence of this question is an official brain breaker if you aren’t a person with enough time to truly think about it the question is and I quote “ would you rather have unlimited bacon but no games, or games, unlimited games, but no games.” The question itself is well built and though I can only type this message the answer is based on how it’s said the answer to be chosen is number two it’s kinda like combining like terms but with words you have two games and one unlimited games when you combine like terms one cancels out the other leaving unlimited games (better) however bacon but no games being simple but loss of benefit therefore with more possibilities and simply a better option games, unlimited games, but no games wins hope that clears it up
09:53 UTC
[Request] Assume I have a pound of flesh and, through some means, manage to break every single covalent bond in it, leaving me with a pound of assorted mono-atomar carbon, nitrogen, oxygen etc. What kind of ballpark is the ensuing BOOM in when the atoms inevitably recombine?
16:38 UTC
21:01 UTC
How come my gf 5'8 , 85kg is stronger than me 5'4 , 56kg?
Hi I always thought doing running and athletic gains strength. But my gf who is 4 inches taller and 30 kg heavier is stronger than me. She barely worksout .
She has big arms and upper body along with big thighs which are firm .
I tried armwrestling her, she smiled winked and defeated me . I tried lifting her i couldnt but she could with one hand. I was having shock face and she was smirking the whole time.
We tried wrestling and she sat on my chest i tapped out. When i sat on her she casually slammed me on the side. This is leading to a situation where she winks and physically dominates me.
Like when i was studying she came in the room and said hey short handsome and then bear hug me suffocating my face in her belly and laughed while pushing me making me fall to the ground
in general a boy is stronger than girl.
have u faced this or know somethijng like this.
who would win in this scenarior
03:38 UTC
Could a 5'6 , 80kg girl beat a 5'4 , 56kg guy in wrestling? Ever saw it?
I am 5 foot 4 ,56kg
Girls in my class of 5'6 , 85kg have challenged me to wrestling .
I am confident i will win as size doesnt matter. I am faster than them.
what do u think what will happen with me?
Ever saw a big girl take down or defeat a small guy?
16:21 UTC
How to tell how loud something is without a measurement tool?
I want to figure out how loud my car engine is without using any tools like a dB reader.
21:19 UTC
How heavy (in kilograms) could I make a two-litre bottle by filling it with sand and then adding as much water as would fit in between the sand particles?
Assume it is sharp sand from a DIY store.
20:33 UTC
In theory if a human got swept up by wind and carried through the air how fast could they potentially go
20:43 UTC
How can somebody reach out to vendors for pricing?
Hey guys! I recently started my own business offering estimation services for low-voltage projects. Some of my first clients are quite new to the industry and don’t have established vendor relationships to get accurate material quotes. I find it frustrating to create estimates for bids with a low chance of success due to this issue. I’ve been exploring ways to reach out to local vendors or vendors like Anixter, Graybar, and Accu-Tech across different locations to secure the best and most competitive quotes.I have been operating remotely so If anyone has insights or can point me in the right direction, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
16:00 UTC
How long, if ever, until a mars colony with more or less permanent residents?
As in people that plan to stay there most of their life, maybe go back to earth after retiring or something.
Bonus question because the above is largely speculation, how much is the total biomass of all ants on earth?
08:30 UTC
What percentage of the world's population has never ridden in an elevator?
17:06 UTC
If we closed Everest and kept anyone from climbing it, about how long would it take for all the trash on it to "naturally" erode away?
19:17 UTC
If the entire land mass of Earth was to be reshaped into a perfect sphere, how tall/deep would the resulting water level be afterwards?
Like if all the water on Earth is temporarily removed and Earth is reshaped into a perfect sphere and then put the water back again, how tall/deep would it be
15:17 UTC
Worldwide, are there more: People who don't eat beef, people who don't eat pork, or people who don't eat any meat at all?
Occurred to me last night and I guess my gut response is that "people who don't eat pork" is the biggest group, but I'm curious about the hivemind's take.
22:12 UTC
How large are the nuclear weapons used in the Fallout Series?
I've been having a discussion with a friend and he doesn't think they're very big. You can see them in this YT clip for reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq7cGlGCla8
At the end the one being dropped looks like it hits Hollywood based on the reference point of Griffith Observatory.
I tried to use the nukemap to try and estimate it but I'd like to see if anyone else has a method of approximating it.
Nukemap for reference - https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
08:50 UTC
A perfect sphere has infinite sides, but no man-made or natural object is a perfect sphere. With that, how many sides does a ping-pong ball have?
Clarity in comments
18:06 UTC
Physics fermi problem
What weight of trash will a typical American generate in a lifetime?
I’m struggling with just coming up with the assumptions, I know the conversions.
But if I know the average lifespan is 78
My assumption couldn’t be how much trash per day an average American weighs right?
Cause then I’d literally only have to multiply it by their lifespan so I feel like I’m oversimplying it
23:13 UTC
How powerful would an impact of an asteroid be if it was the size of Texas?
Tried asking this on r/askscience but it got deleted so I'll post it here
So in Invincible, Mark stopped an asteroid from hitting Earth and then Omni Man tells him that was a "small one" and claimed to have stopped an asteroid as big as Texas. But just how powerful would the impact be of an asteroid as big as Nolan claimed?
12:01 UTC
if two tennis balls are placed 1 mile apart in a vacuum with no other forces, how long would it take for their gravity to collide them?
21:26 UTC
Construction Estimators
Construction Estimators, are any of you in here flying solo? If so can you elaborate on the process you took? I.e how did you set up your payment structure, is it hourly? Or per estimate? Advertising, etc. If you don't mind. Background on me, I've been working for a remodeling contractor for 2 years after working in the field for 20 years before that. I've created a great staple pricing database. I've been surpassing my profit margins so I'm looking to maybe fly solo and thought I would maybe start offering third party estimations or something along those lines.
22:14 UTC