One meter, which equals about 3.281 feet or just over 1 yard, is a measurement you’ll probably come across frequently, even if you’re located in a country like the U.S. that doesn’t use the metric system.
However, because it’s not as familiar in the U.S., it can be difficult to judge just how long a meter is.
A guitar
A guitar is one of the best comparisons to a meter because most guitars are almost exactly 1 meter long.
Guitars do vary in size depending on their brand and design, but most guitars made for adults are a standard size of about 40 inches, which equals 1.016 meters.
Even people who don’t play guitar can probably picture one or imagine how it feels to hold one.
A Bed
Beds are another good estimating tool for 1 meter because they’re easy for people to picture.
You can use either the length or width of a mattress to get a better feel for 1 meter. For example, a twin bed is 38 inches wide, which is just shy of 1 meter.
King and queen mattresses are about 80 inches long, so they’re around 2 meters, or double 1 meter, in length.
A Lion
Lions are surprisingly large animals. Female lions often weigh around 280 pounds, and males can weigh around 420 pounds. Male lions are also about 2 meters long, double 1 meter.
A Refrigerator
It’s easy for most people to visualize a fridge. Refrigerators vary in size, with some as small as 24 inches wide.
However, most refrigerators are about 40 inches wide, so they’re just over 1 meter wide.
Most fridges are also between 62 and 72 inches tall, so they’re one and a half to two times taller than 1 meter.
A Car
Cars vary in length depending on their make, model, and style, but on average, a car is about 14.7 feet long.
This is just shy of 5 yards, and a meter is very close to a yard in length. This means that you can estimate that five 1-meter sections could fit along one standard car.
However, 14.7 feet is actually closer to 4.5 meters, so one standard car is about 4.5 times bigger than 1 meter.
A Baseball Bat
Even if you’ve never played baseball, you can probably visualize the length of a baseball bat. Baseball bats vary a bit in length to accommodate players of different heights.
Most bats, though, are between 35 and 37 inches long. This is only a little shy of 1 meter.
A Giraffe
Giraffes are the tallest living land animal, and adults can grow to between 14 and 19 feet tall. An average giraffe is usually about 16 feet or just over 5 meters tall.
Giraffes are known for their incredibly long necks, which are an average of 6 feet or 2 meters long themselves.
A Telephone Pole
Telephone poles can range from 30 to 80 feet in height, but, in residential areas, poles between 35 and 45 feet tall are the most common.
Thirty-five feet equals about 10.7 meters, and 45 feet equals about 13.7 meters.
The average height of a telephone pole, 40 feet, equals just slightly more than 12 meters.
Therefore if you can visualize a telephone pole, you can visualize a height that’s roughly 12 times taller than 1 meter.
Wine Bottles
Wine bottles can be of different heights, but most aren’t. Instead, the majority of wine bottles are 12 inches or 1 foot tall. We know that 1 meter is equal to just over 1 yard, so three wine bottles are just a little less than 1 meter.
If you can picture a bottle of wine, you can easily picture 1 meter, and you can then mentally add more bottles to increase the height or distance.
A Christmas Tree
You can purchase a real or artificial Christmas tree in nearly any size, from something small enough to sit on a table to something tall enough to stand in a grand hall.
However, in the United States, the most popular size for a Christmas tree is about 6 feet or 2 meters tall.
If you can picture an average Christmas tree, you can picture a height that is about double 1 meter.
