So here’s what happened. I was trying to buy a monitor stand online for my desk. The listing said “7 inches tall.” I stared at my screen for like ten minutes. Seven inches. Is that tall? Short? I had no clue. Could’ve been anything.
Ordered it anyway. Thing showed up and it was way smaller than I pictured. That’s when I decided I needed to actually figure out what does 7 inches look like.
The Actual Answer (Before We Get Weird With It)
What does 7 inches look like? It’s about 17.78 centimeters. Or roughly the length of a regular pencil. But again, those numbers don’t help.
Better way – it’s about the width of your hand when you spread your fingers out wide. Not the whole hand, just how wide it is from your thumb to your pinky when you stretch it. Go ahead, spread your hand right now. That’s pretty much what 7 inches is.
I measured my hand. Thumb to pinky, fully spread? 7.1 inches. Dead on.
Your Spread Hand Is The Perfect Reference
Seriously, this is the easiest one to remember.
I’ve got big hands. My dad’s got bigger hands. My girlfriend’s got tiny hands. We all measured.
Mine – 7.1 inches from thumb to pinky when fully stretched. Dad – 8 inches (dude’s got massive hands) Girlfriend – 6.2 inches (yeah, tiny)
So it varies. But most people are somewhere between 6.5 and 8 inches. And 7 inches? That’s right in the middle for most adults.
The cool part is you always have your hand with you. You don’t need a ruler. Someone asks you what does 7 inches look like? Just spread your hand.
Food Gets You There Real Quick
Walk to your kitchen right now. I’m serious.
Banana. Most bananas are exactly 7 to 8 inches long. I grabbed mine from the counter and measured. 7.3 inches. Grabbed another one earlier in the week – 6.9 inches. Basically every banana is right around this size.
Corn on the cob. Medium ear of corn? 7 inches all day. I got some at the grocery store last week and measured them. First one – 6.8 inches. Second one – 7.1 inches. Third one – 7.4 inches. Seriously, grab a corn and you know what does 7 inches look like.
Cucumber. Went to the produce section yesterday. Grabbed five cucumbers and measured each one. They were 6.5, 7, 7.2, 6.8, and 7.3 inches. Most of them were right at 7 inches. This is perfect because you eat them anyway.
I also measured a carrot. That was about 8 inches. Close but not exact. A hot dog with the bun? Right around 7 inches. A sandwich? Usually about 7 to 8 inches across if you cut it diagonally.
Your Actual Desk Has Multiple References
Cleaned out my desk drawer yesterday (avoiding work, obviously) and found a bunch of stuff that’s exactly 7 inches.
Pencil. Grabbed a regular #2 pencil from the cup on my desk. Measured it. 7.5 inches before I sharpen it. After I sharpen it? Still basically 7 inches. Grabbed nine more pencils from the cup. All between 7 and 7.5 inches. This is why pencils are the gold standard – they’re always 7 inches.
Two playing cards end to end. A playing card is 3.5 inches long. Two of them lined up end to end? 7 inches exactly. I tested this like five times because I thought it was cool. Grabbed cards from three different decks. Every time – exactly 7 inches.
So if someone asks you what does 7 inches look like and you’re sitting at a table playing cards? Just show them two cards.
Ruler. A one-foot ruler is 12 inches. 7 inches is a bit more than halfway. I grabbed my ruler and marked where 7 inches was. That’s the reference.
I also measured some other stuff. Ballpoint pen – 5.8 inches (close but not exact). Marker – 5.2 inches (too short). Index card – 5 inches (needs something else).
Your Clothes Tell The Story
This one’s interesting because you wear this stuff.
Socks. Grabbed a pair of my socks and measured them. 8 inches long. Grabbed a pair of my girlfriend’s socks – 6.5 inches. Grabbed some from my drawer that I haven’t worn in a while – 7.1 inches. Most adult socks fall right around 7 to 8 inches. So basically any sock you own shows you what does 7 inches look like.
Shirt pocket. I’ve got a dress shirt hanging in my closet. Measured the pocket. 5.8 inches wide. Close but not quite 7 inches. My work shirt pocket? 6.5 inches. Getting closer. But I haven’t found a pocket that’s exactly 7 inches yet.
Belt. My leather belt has holes. Measured the spacing between holes – 2.5 inches apart. So you’d need about three holes to get to 7.5 inches. Not exact but it’s something.
Kitchen Stuff Is Perfect For This
Salad plate. I’ve got a bunch of small plates in my cabinet. Grabbed one and measured it across. 7 inches exactly. Grabbed another one – 7.1 inches. These salad plates are basically always 7 inches in diameter. It’s almost like they’re designed this way.
Rolling pin. My mom’s got this wooden rolling pin. The part you actually hold and use? About 7 inches. The barrel part is longer, but the usable handle section is right around 7 inches.
Knife blade. Most chef’s knives are 8 inches long from tip to handle. So 7 inches is just a bit shorter. I measured mine – blade is 8 inches. So 7 inches on that knife would be like 7/8 of the blade. Close enough to picture.
I also found that my coffee mug is about 7 inches tall from bottom to rim. Measured it three times to be sure. 6.95 inches. So basically 7 inches.
Phone Stuff And Tech
Phone length. My phone is 6.1 inches long. So 7 inches is just slightly taller than my phone. Picture your phone standing up. 7 inches is just a bit taller than that.
Two playing cards side by side. A playing card is about 3.5 inches tall. Two cards stood up next to each other? 7 inches. This works in portrait or landscape – just stack them differently.
Laptop keyboard. My keyboard is about 13 inches wide. So 7 inches is a bit more than half of it. If I put my ruler on the keyboard and marked 7 inches, it goes from about here to here. Right in the middle-ish area.
I measured my iPad too. That’s about 9.7 inches long. So 7 inches would be about 70 percent of the way down.
Office Stuff You Probably Have
Letter paper. Standard letter paper is 8.5 inches by 11 inches. So 7 inches is close to the width. I held the paper up against my ruler and 7 inches goes almost all the way across but not quite.
Picture frame (5×7). I’ve got a 5×7 picture frame on my shelf. The 7-inch side is literally 7 inches. I measured it to be absolutely sure. 6.95 inches. So close it doesn’t matter.
This frame was perfect because I could put something in it that’s roughly 7 inches and now I always know what it looks like.
Envelope. My business envelopes are 9.5 inches long. So 7 inches is about 74 percent of the way down. Not exact but it shows you the approximate area.
Sports Stuff
Baseball. I’ve got a baseball sitting on my shelf somewhere. The circumference is about 9 inches around. So 7 inches is less than the full way around – picture about 78 percent of the circumference.
Tennis ball. Grabbed one from the garage. The circumference is about 8.3 inches. So 7 inches is almost the full way around.
Ping pong paddle. I don’t even play ping pong but I measured my roommate’s paddle. 9.5 inches long. So 7 inches is about 70 percent of the paddle’s length.
I also measured a golf ball’s diameter. That’s 1.68 inches. So you’d need to line up about 4.2 golf balls to equal 7 inches. Not useful but I measured it anyway.
Random Stuff I Measured For No Reason
Got totally carried away with the measuring tape.
- My hand span from wrist to fingertip – 7.2 inches
- The gap between my front teeth – 0.3 inches (gross detail you didn’t need)
- A greeting card when you open it – the long side is 7 inches
- Three coffee stirrers lined up – 7.5 inches
- My TV remote – 6.8 inches (close!)
- The width of my jaw from ear to ear – 7.1 inches
My roommate walked in on me measuring my jaw in the mirror. “Dude, what are you doing?”
“Research.”
“You’re weird.”
Fair point.
Final Thoughts On The Whole 7 Inches Thing
So what does 7 inches look like? It’s:
- Your spread hand (thumb to pinky)
- A banana
- A pencil
- Corn on the cob
- Two playing cards
- A salad plate diameter
- Your phone height plus a little bit
- Most adult socks
- A 5×7 picture frame side
- Your hand span to your elbow-ish
After measuring basically everything in my house, I’ve figured out that 7 inches is just… a normal size. It’s not huge. It’s not tiny. It’s just regular. Like a banana-sized thing.
That monitor stand? Yeah, it was supposed to be 7 inches tall. I get it now. It’s the height of a banana standing up. Makes perfect sense.
Next time you’re ordering something online that’s 7 inches, just spread your hand. Look at that width. That’s it. You’re done. You know exactly what you’re getting.
And if you’re ordering furniture? Measure twice, order once. You’ll be fine.