I hate these macro "facts"...

[T. Brown 1st MRB]

So a friend posted the following image:

on their FB, and I HATE these types of things because they are more often than not completely false. I decided to test this particular image. Feel free to check my math; I'd rather be corrected than be putting more inaccurate information out there, and that is one reason why I'm posting this. I'm also posting this for the younger members of our unit to encourage critical thinking in this day and age of the technologically-assisted rapid spread of information. Just because it is made into a picture and posted on a site that calls itself Unbelievable Facts does NOT make it true.

The following was my response:

Sorry, not true.

Proof:

Due to the relative unknown actual area of the Milky Way, I'll be using the diameters of each object instead and converting all to miles.

The diameter of the Sun is 864,300 miles; the diameter of the Milky Way is 100-120 thousand light years (or ~646,600,000,000,000,000 miles). The most common white blood cell in the human body is a neutrophil, with a diameter of ~11 μm (or 0.000000006835 miles), and the diameter of the U.S. is 2198 miles.

So for this to be true, if Sun/x = cell, then Milky Way/x = US.

Solving the first for x:

864,300/x = 0.000000006835

x = 1.26452×10^14 (126,452,000,000,000)

Solving the second for x:

646,600,000,000,000,000/x = 2198

x = ~294,176,524,110,000

That's a difference of 167,724,524,110,000.

In reality, if the Sun was scaled down to the size of a white blood cell, then the Milky Way would be 5113.40 miles long, not 2,198 miles. It would be a little larger than the size of Venus.

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I also had to explain why it did not matter whether the image meant area or circumference; since I used the constant of the diameter for each object, the end result showing the statement to be false would exist no matter what that constant was intended to be.

Again, if anyone notices any errors, please let me know. I'm sure there are some members of this unit more fluent in mathematics and/or astronomy than me; I majored in English and Computer Science.

Question everything.

[Yamagata 1st MRB]

Follow the source train.

The image linked was sourced from an Urban Terror forum that made me feel dirty just visiting, then referenced a redditor, whose comments and posts I would rather not dig through thus ending my train of reference... I digress, it seemed their math was based on their knowledge that the white blood cell diameter was about 7 micrometers (the diameter of a lymphocyte (Wikipedia), which most associate with white blood cells) which changes the calculation quite drastically. 7 μm is about 0.000000004349 miles which changes your first result to 198,735,341,500,000.

That would make the galaxy 3253.57 miles and the average width of the United States is about 3,075 miles (wiki.answers). It all depends on where you get your numbers!

[T. Brown 1st MRB]

Follow the source train.

The image linked was sourced from an Urban Terror forum that made me feel dirty just visiting, then referenced a redditor, whose comments and posts I would rather not dig through thus ending my train of reference... I digress, it seemed their math was based on their knowledge that the white blood cell diameter was about 7 micrometers (the diameter of a lymphocyte (Wikipedia), which most associate with white blood cells) which changes the calculation quite drastically. 7 μm is about 0.000000004349 miles which changes your first result to 198,735,341,500,000.

That would make the galaxy 3253.57 miles and the average width of the United States is about 3,075 miles (wiki.answers). It all depends on where you get your numbers!

Well that puts a little more faith in humanity for me : ) I couldn't be bothered trying to navigate that site to figure out where they got their numbers. Thanks!

[Viktor]

A good read! I love it when scientists and mathematicians school internet kids. >_<

[Xiong]

All those fact shit pages are run by Nazi Commie 9 Year Olds who raise Grammar Nazi Children and live in a communal farm under the reddit headquarters.

What.

[Stroops]

All those fact shit pages are run by Nazi Commie 9 Year Olds who raise Grammar Nazi Children and live in a communal farm under the reddit headquarters.

What.

Hit the Like button if your a human being

Keep scrolling if you eat cow poop through a straw

[Guest]

What the fuck Xiong?!

[Quarterman 1st MRB]

Wait....isn't everything true on the internet?