9 Common Things that are 100 Feet Tall

100 feet is the equivalent of 1200 inches, 30.48 meters, or 33.33 yards. It is quite a significant measurement whether you look at it in height or length.

A measurement this big can be difficult to visualize or get your head around, so it helps to have comparisons of other things that measure a similar amount to get a clearer idea of just how big 100 feet is.

Here we will look at various objects and even animals that can be used to help us understand how long 100 feet is.

This can be very useful because it is unlikely you will have any measuring device that reaches as long as 100 feet to get a more accurate idea because tape measures are rarely available past 50 feet in length.

Aircraft

If you want to visualize what 100 feet looks like, then look no further than the classic Boeing 737-500 aircraft. This jet airplane model was first released in 1987 by Southwest airlines, although the first one didn’t fly for the airline until 1990.

These aircraft are mostly retired in favor of larger planes for commercial use; however, there are still a few that remain in operation.

The Boeing 737-500 measures almost exactly 100 feet in length from nose to tail, so if you want to get a comparison of how long 100 feet is, then you can use this aircraft as your baseline.

Half an Ice Hockey Rink

An ice hockey rink is a pretty generous size. If you have ever been to see an ice hockey game, or even played in one, then you’ll know that these are certainly not petite. The size of an official ice hockey rink is 200 feet in length by 85 feet in width.

This means that to get an idea of how long 100 feet is, you could mentally cut an ice hockey rink in half along the longest length.

Alternatively, to get a clearer picture of how long 100 feet is, you could walk from one end of an ice hockey rink to the centerline. This would be exactly 100 feet.

3 School Buses

Although school buses are not a standard size, when most people visualize a school bus, they imagine medium models. This is because these are the most commonly used school buses in populated areas.

If you live in a more rural area, it may be that you are used to seeing smaller school buses that seat fewer children, but even so, most people have seen a medium-sized school bus and could visualize roughly how long one of these vehicles is.

A typical medium school bus will measure 35 feet in length. This means to get a measurement of approximately 100 feet, you would need to line up 3 school buses in a row, with no space left between each one.

This would give you a total length of 105 feet, which is a little over 100 feet, but close enough to get a rough idea of this measurement.

Blue Whale

Blue whales are the largest animal to have ever lived on our planet. Fully grown blue whales can measure up to 110 feet long, but more commonly, they do not exceed 100 feet in length. Interestingly it is the female blue whales who are usually bigger than the males.

If you have ever seen a blue whale in real life, you should consider yourself very lucky. This is an incredible species that can be found in oceans around the world, but typically blue whales tend to prefer spending their time in deep ocean waters.

This means that to catch a glimpse, you will usually have to go on an ocean expedition.

2 Semi Truck Trailers

The trailer on a standard semi-truck measure 50 feet long. This means that to get an idea of 100 feet in length, you will need to picture 2 semi-truck trailers lined up next to each other.

Do not include the cab of the trucks in your measurements, as this will add additional unnecessary length.

Similarly, cargo containers are also 50 feet in length, so you could imagine 2 of these lined up end to end to visualize 100 feet long.

18 Adults

The average height of an adult human being is 5 feet and 6 inches. This means if you laid out 18 average-sized people in a row, foot to head, you would create a human chain measuring almost 100 feet.

The exact measurement, assuming each person was exactly average height, would be 99 feet.

Basketball Court

A basketball court measures 92 feet long by 49 feet wide. If you want to get an idea of how long 100 feet is, you could look at the length of a basketball court and add a few additional feet in your imagination to reach the full 100 feet.

Alternatively, double the width of a basketball court, and this would give you 98 feet, which is much closer to the target of 100 feet.

10 Storey Building

Each story on a typical building will measure 10 feet from the outside.

This means to find a length of 100 feet, you could look at a 10-story building, such as a block of apartments, or an office building with 10 stories.

Though buildings will vary in design, and this is by no means an accurate way of measuring 100 feet, it will give you a good approximate idea of how tall 100 feet is.

5 Giraffes

Giraffes are pretty tall; in fact, they are the tallest living animal on earth. These elegant creatures, when they reach adulthood, measure between 15 and 20 feet tall.

To get a total height of 100 feet, you would need to stand 5 of the tallest giraffes on top of each other, which we don’t recommend you attempt!

If you were visualizing the smaller giraffes at 15 feet in height, you would need 6 and a half giraffes to reach 100 feet tall.