How many pickles does it take to get to the moon?

Answer 1

Actually, there are a few issues with the other answer, it is honestly shocking. 2.4billion is not nearly enough pickles to reach the moon.

Average Length:

Assuming the pickles are primarily being sourced from the United States we would expect to see much shorter pickles. Section 51.4173 of the United States Standards for Grades of Pickling Cucumbers published by the Department of Agriculture notes that grade 3 pickles (the largest grade) “Shall not exceed 6 inches”. So assuming that 6” is an average isn’t accurate. Combined with other sources it appears that the average pickle length is likely closer to 3” though surprisingly the research in this area.

Feet in a mile:

There are actually 5280 feet in a mile, a significant difference with this type of calculation. Even using the original answers 6” average pickle length estimate this would result in an additional 560 pickles per mile. This would mean an additional 133,759,920 pickles would be needed.

Using the 3” average one would need to stack 21,120 pickles to go a mile.

Miles to the Moon:

Due to the nature of the moon’s orbit it can be anywhere between 225,623 and 252,088 from the earth. The generally accepted average is 238,855, so while the original answer isn’t technically inaccurate it is 2 miles off the average.

Once further research is done on pickle stacking rates and speeds we could determine the optimal time to start stacking in order to end at an optimal time while the moon is closer to the earth, thus reducing the total number of required pickles.

Total Pickles to the Moon:

Assuming we are stacking to the moon at its average distance from the earth it would take about 5,044,617,600 pickles.

An optimal time to reach the moon would be very early Christmas Eve, 2026. On that day only 4,680,445,440 Pickles would be needed. This would require 364,172,160 fewer pickles than average.

Answer 2

About 2.4 billion, that is assuming that they would not get destroyrd by pressure or something else like that. And ofcourse with the specifications that the pickles are verticaly ontop of each other and could actually balance like that. Also assuming that each pickle is 6inches long, and there are 5000 feet in a mile, thus 10,000 pickles in a mile, and the moon is 238857 miles away thus you get 2.4 pickles to the moon.