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    Cape Station, future home of an enhanced geothermal power plant, in Utah

    (www.gatesnotes.com)
    177 points mooreds | 16 comments | 06 Sep 25 20:26 UTC | HN request time: 0.532s | source | bottom
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    filenox ◴[06 Sep 25 21:08 UTC] No.45152845[source]▶
    Most wells at Cape Station are between 8,000 and 9,000 feet deep, and the deepest one extends a mind-blowing 15,000 feet below the surface. That is about the depth you'd get to if you stacked 50 Statues of Liberty on top of each other!

    For those who prefer a less American-centric metric: 8,000–9,000 feet is approximately 2.5 kilometers. 15,000 feet is about 4.5 kilometers — roughly the height of 14 Eiffel Towers stacked on top of each other!

    replies(8): >>45152870 #>>45152917 #>>45152918 #>>45153009 #>>45153089 #>>45153746 #>>45153942 #>>45154203 #
    1. ajkjk ◴[06 Sep 25 21:17 UTC] No.45152917[source]▶
    It's so silly to use statues of liberty as a metric when nobody really knows how tall it is either (famously it's a lot smaller than people expect).
    replies(8): >>45152999 #>>45153019 #>>45153127 #>>45153285 #>>45153345 #>>45153862 #>>45154089 #>>45154603 #
    2. catlifeonmars ◴[06 Sep 25 21:26 UTC] No.45152999[source]▶
    AU would have been the most universal measurement.
    3. pwython ◴[06 Sep 25 21:28 UTC] No.45153019[source]▶
    I'm actually shocked how big the Eiffel Tower is.

    https://www.size-explorer.com/en/compare/buildings/eiffel+to...

    replies(1): >>45153383 #
    4. rplnt ◴[06 Sep 25 21:41 UTC] No.45153127[source]▶
    The idea is you assume it with the base while they only used the statue itself, making whatever they are measuring look more impressive.
    replies(1): >>45153797 #
    5. daedrdev ◴[06 Sep 25 22:04 UTC] No.45153285[source]▶
    Football fields, despite being a meme, are very easy for Americans to visualize
    replies(2): >>45153500 #>>45154007 #
    6. Tempest1981 ◴[06 Sep 25 22:10 UTC] No.45153345[source]▶
    Helpful but pointless metrics:

    1 Statue of Liberty (including foundation) is roughly 1 American football field (excluding end zones)

    1 Eiffel Tower is around 3 Statues of Liberty (each with foundation)... which is almost 1600 bananas

    replies(1): >>45157271 #
    7. daemonologist ◴[06 Sep 25 22:16 UTC] No.45153383[source]▶
    It was the tallest freestanding structure in France from 1889 to 2004 (when it was surpassed by one of the pillars of the Millau Viaduct; it's still the second-tallest). Must have been absolutely mind blowing at ~312m when it was new - the record was around 150m for centuries before it.
    8. defrost ◴[06 Sep 25 22:30 UTC] No.45153500[source]▶
    Internationally ambiguous though, the world at large equates football with FIFA and Australians picture something much larger with more foot to ellipsoid than a tiny US handegg court.
    9. thaumasiotes ◴[06 Sep 25 23:17 UTC] No.45153797[source]▶
    I think the idea is that nobody has any sense, even a very rough one, of how tall the Statue of Liberty might be. It's not like you ever see it in person, and if you did most of it would be in perspective, which ruins your chances of determining its size.

    Most people have enough trouble believing that their foot is the same length as their forearm. You never see your feet close up, either.

    replies(1): >>45153959 #
    10. checkyoursudo ◴[06 Sep 25 23:32 UTC] No.45153862[source]▶
    One statue of liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World, Liberty Island, NYC) is approximately 4 times the size of one statue of liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World replica, Île aux Cygnes, Paris).

    Easy peasy.

    11. 3eb7988a1663 ◴[06 Sep 25 23:50 UTC] No.45153959{3}[source]▶
    Whelp, I just had to put my foot onto my arm, so point made.
    12. rascul ◴[07 Sep 25 00:02 UTC] No.45154007[source]▶
    Canadian football fields are bigger
    replies(1): >>45154211 #
    13. adrianmonk ◴[07 Sep 25 00:16 UTC] No.45154089[source]▶
    It's probably done because Statues of Liberty is the ultimate "freedom unit".
    14. _DeadFred_ ◴[07 Sep 25 00:36 UTC] No.45154211{3}[source]▶
    I'll have you know my Canadian friends have told me it's OK, American football fields are average sized (definitely not less than average).
    15. lostlogin ◴[07 Sep 25 01:43 UTC] No.45154603[source]▶
    Metric? That unit of measure must surely be imperial?
    16. mooreds ◴[07 Sep 25 11:30 UTC] No.45157271[source]▶
    Wow, so the deepest well is about 27k bananas deep. Amazing!