Size Comparison Pics That Will Make You Realize How Small We Are

Molly Campbell|Trending|10 Oct 2024

Sometimes, we all need a good old-fashioned reality check. As humans, we are really quite small in this world, even though our egos are huge. We might cast a large shadow over the world, but there are plenty of things in the world that are way bigger, or way smaller, than we ever realized.

Here are some pictures that'll make you realize just how small we truly are.

Spot The Squad

Photo Credit: Kai_GB / Reddit

Here is a picture of some people traveling in the Jordanian desert.

If you squint closely, you'll be able to see the four people riding their horses in the sand.

Whales Have Huge Heads

woman laying down with her arms crossed over her chest next to a massive whale skull

Photo Credit: vke7 / Imgur

Here's a picture of a woman laying down next to a whale skull, and it's kind of terrifying.

But, wait, what if that's a bird skull and that lady is just a VERY, VERY tiny person? Food for thought.

King Of The Ocean

Photo Credit: Bails6923 / Reddit

It's crazy to think that animals that are this large actually exist.

Whales have terrified me ever since I was young, and I do not think that I am brave enough in the SLIGHTEST to swim with one like this.

Now That's A Big Bush

lady standing next to a huge flower bush

Photo Credit: BigBoy_Jarv / Reddit

This is a picture of a 100-year-old bush situated in a Canadian town called Ladysmith.

The lady standing next to this megalodon bush was able to watch it grow since she was a little kid. How sweet.

Dinosaurs Didn't Become Extinct, They Just Learned How To Fly

Crowned Eagle claw holding a human's hand

Photo Credit: italianpoetess / Reddit

Here is a picture of a claw of a young Crowned Eagle. If this is a small eagle, WHAT DOES AN ADULT CLAW LOOK LIKE?!?!

I did some research and this breed of eagle just swoops in and grabs monkeys from trees, which is pretty terrifying.

Bald Eagle's Nest

ranger sitting in a bald headed eagle's nest

Photo Credit: quince6 / Reddit

Okay, somebody stop this nonsense right now, because I had NO idea that bald eagles made nests that were this big.

I guess I should have put two and two together because those things are HUGE.

Is It Weird That I Want To Sit In It?

guy standing next to a huge amethyst that is bigger than he is

Photo Credit: mtlgrems / Reddit

This massive amethyst straight-up looks like the portal to the Nether in Minecraft. I had no idea that quartz rocks could be this big.

Everything else aside, the purple color of this is beautiful.

Absolute Units

Three large Clydesdale horses next to a woman

Photo Credit: kaywhyesay / Reddit

These are Clydesdales, a Scottish breed of draught horse. And yes, that is their ACTUAL size.

Although they are huge horses that are primarily bred to pull, surprisingly, they aren't too big to ride.

New Pet Idea

woman holding huge african land snail that is bigger than her hand

Photo Credit: TheRealMrCrowley / Imgur

So, this isn't photoshop. It's a real African land snail, and even though it's pretty cute, I am thankful that snails in North America are tiny.

I kind of want to be grossed out, but he's so darn cute because he kind of looks like a rabbit.

Small People, Big Doors

Ancient door in Rome that is 25 feet tall and extremely wide

Photo Credit: Sanetosane / Reddit

This is the oldest door that is still in use in Rome, and it's freakin' HUGE. The picture doesn't even do it justice, but it's a whopping 25 feet high.

Humans are so small, but we seem to believe that we need huge doors? Where is the logic, people?

Why Does Australia Have Such Large Insects

large australian worm that is basically as long as a woman's torso

Photo Credit: pleisto_cene / Reddit

While out on a walk, this Reddit user found this MASSIVE worm and used their sister's leg for scale.

Don't worry, it's not your standard earthworm, it was near the Minamurra Rainforest in NSW, Australia.

In Case You Forgot - Dinos Were Huge

man in the plaid shirt at museum standing next to a fossil of a triceratops skull

Photo Credit: julianofcanada / Reddit

This is the skull of a Triceratops, and man, look at those horns.

Fun fact: because of the length of their horns, these dinosaurs could easily puncture or rupture internal organs, which would quickly kill even Tyrannosaurus Rex. But, they were vegetarians and only ate plants. Talk about conserving your strength.

Croc Attack

jumping crocodile tours seen here just an hour out of Darwin

Photo Credit: James D. Morgan / Contributor / Getty Images

Someone snapped this photo of a MASSIVE crocodile coming out of the water, and it's pretty majestic. His head is at least the size of half my torso.

Man, I would not want to be in a fight with one of these things.

At Least We Have Bigger Brains

human skeleton standing next to a gorilla skeleton

Photo Credit: Sapientiam / Reddit

Even though we think that we're so above animals, this picture comparing a human skeleton next to a gorilla skeleton may be pretty shocking.

Our genomes compared to a gorilla's genomes are only different by just 1.6 percent.

Nature Finds A Way To Protect Itself

African Acacia erioloba thorn plant against a human hand

Photo Credit: uncle-beanbag / Tumblr

Nature truly is METAL. At first glance, I thought that they were someone's really long fingernails, but these are actually thorns on a plant.

The thought of falling into one of these is actually nightmare fuel.

Apparently, Agave Plants Get Huge

Woman standing next to large agave plant that is 4 times the width of her and taller

Photo Credit: kchewy / Reddit

This woman posed next to a giant agave plant in her neighborhood, location unknown (my guess is California or somewhere in Australia).

Thank god for Agave plants, because where in the world would we be without tequila?!

Imagine Untangling That

2 men standing on a bunch of really huge chains

Photo Credit: sverdrupian / Reddit

Behold, some really, really large anchor chains for an offshore platform. Look at how small these people look amongst what looks like a literal sea of chains.

I'm not sure what they're doing with it, but I'm going to assume that it's going in the water at some point.

I Wouldn't Wanna Get In The Way Of This Thing

man standing next to model of a Quetzalcoatlus

Photo Credit: EllisTomago / Imgur

Here's a dude standing next to a replica of a Quetzalcoatlus, which was one of the largest known flying animals of all time.

Their wings apparently stretch to 33 feet when opened up, but I'm out here wondering how it is able to fly with that big beak on its face.

Thanos, That You?

person holding up the palm of their hand to a gorilla's to contrast how much bigger they are than us

Photo Credit: Turntupgreens / Reddit

Even though our skeletons are kind of, sort of similar, gorillas clearly have much larger features than us.

This is a picture of someone's hand contrasted against that of a gorilla's, and all I can say is —dang—.

Why Does It Look Like He Has No Equipment On Whatsoever

diver posing and doing a thumbs up while holding onto a really big propellor underwater

Photo Credit: pewpewAligator / Reddit

Here's a diver posing next to a MASSIVE propellor. I hope that they didn't start it accidentally or anything, because yikes.

Pictures like these just go to show that we are so tiny in comparison to the machinery that we build.

Small People, Big Doors

man standing next to large doors at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London

Photo Credit: glitterlikesound / Reddit

This is a 6 foot 1 man standing next to a massive door in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England. Apparently, Michelangelo called them the doors of paradise.

What was the human race's obsession with making such large doors, especially because we're clearly so tiny in this world?

We Really Are Tiny

woman walking through Sequoia National Park next to giant trees

Photo Credit: lou_wanders / Reddit

This is a picture of a girl walking through Sequoia National Park, which is surrounded by groves of the world's largest living things, including trees.

Imagine trying to climb one of these bad boys?

90 Inch Tall Wheels

man standing next to Fendt 1046 tractor rear tire

Photo Credit: LATRACE33 / Reddit

A guy stood next to a Fendt 1046 rear tire, and this picture is the result. The guy is around 5'9, so it's safe to say that these wheels are huge.

I have never been up close to a tractor, so I'm surprised that the wheels are this tall.

That's A Big Boy

man tending to large bison while he completes tagging and blood tests

Photo Credit: hootersbutwithcats / Reddit

The man here is completing tagging and blood tests for Bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo.

Just to give you an idea of how big these boys are, this male allegedly weighed over 3000 pounds.

Wolf Or Dog?

man posing with his irish wolfhound who is taller than him when stretched out

Photo Credit: FaceFirst23 / Reddit

Actually, both. This is an Irish Wolfhound held up to scale against his 5'8" owner.

He looks like a really good boy, and I hope that he gets lots of treats. I wonder how big his poops are, though...

We're The Size Of A Femur

woman laying in between whale femur and giraffe femur

Photo Credit: naturedyke / Reddit

This is a picture of a woman laying in between a whale femur (right) and a giraffe femur (left).

It's safe to say that our femurs are truly the size of ants in comparison to these big bones.

The Great Pyramid of Giza

Photo Credit: TheRealJidda / Reddit

This is one of the best perspectives of this pyramid that I have ever seen.

Pictures like these make it all the more astonishing in how it was built so, so many ages ago.

Star Of The Next Anaconda Film

giant snake on a piece of construction equipment

Photo Credit: Ali/Pinterest

This isn't your average anaconda. This one is massive, and those people standing next to it could become its next dinner if it wanted them.

How do these things even get so long?

Giant Salt Mines

Photo Credit: joshhosj999/Reddit

These are the salt mines of Garmsar, located in Iran.

That human standing in the middle provides the perfect context, as you see how tall and wide it is in there.

The Submerged Part Of The Ice

Photo Credit: @_below_surface_/Instagram

No wonder the Titanic never stood a chance. With all this ice underwater, a glacier can take out anything that comes into its path without much trouble.

Look how tiny the human is underneath it!

How Long Did This Take To Make?

a picture of someone standing next to Michelangelo's David

Photo Credit: Reddit / YourFellaThere

Michelangelo's David is one of the most recognizable statues in history, but something a lot of people don't realize is that it's far bigger than you think.

In pictures, it seems like it's a life-size statue of a human and would stand at 5 or 6 feet tall, but it actually stands 17 feet high!

Tiny In Comparison To Today

Photo Credit: Reddit / AndrewPogon

At the time it sailed, the Titanic was considered to be the biggest and best ship there could be, but when you look at the size of it compared to modern cruise ships, it seems minuscule.

It's crazy how things change.

He Seems Like A Fun-gi

Photo Credit: Twitter / @ShadowedByDark

Despite what it seems, this is not a ball of styrofoam about to be used in a science project.

It's actually an aptly named puffball mushroom that someone stumbled upon in their backyard.

Fishing For Trouble

Photo Credit: Reddit / oberon06

One Reddit user seemed to think these knives were meant for use on large fish.

However, if you need a knife this big to deal with a fish, maybe you should just toss it back and get a new one.

Imagine Him Hopping Around Your House

a bunny almost as big as a person sitting down

Photo Credit: Reddit / Drown_In_The_Void

Bunnies are thought of as these tiny, cute balls of fur, but when it comes to Flemish Rabbits, there's nothing small about these guys.

The longest one on record reached closed to 4 and a half feet.

Take A Look At The Next Red Light

Photo Credit: Reddit / sinmantky

Turns out traffic lights are a lot bigger than we thought.

It's not something you spend all that much of your time looking at (hopefully) but they're nearly the size of a full-grown woman.

You Could Make A Lot Of Lemonade

Photo Credit: Reddit / TreeManAdamski

For some unknown reason, someone managed to grow this giant lemon in their backyard, which came from a tree of completely regular-sized lemons.

This guy must have got the most sunlight.

Tornado Alley

a tornado looking huge next to some wind turbines

Photo Credit: Imgur / chakalakasp

If you thought a wind turbine was powerful, look at the size comparison between a tornado and your measly wind turbines.

This is why you don't want to live in tornado country.

You Don't Need Glasses To Read This

Photo Credit: Reddit / sleepyeyed

One Reddit user says they've always had a fear of a sign falling on them while they drive under them, and now that we see how truly large this sign is, we also have this fear.

It's so much bigger than we thought.

All Hands, And Tusks, On Deck

guy standing behind a big walrus that is napping on his boat

Photo Credit: Reddit

This walrus decided to block the entrance to their submarine and there's literally nothing they can do about it because it's huge, and he's busy taking a nap for the foreseeable future.

Just let him sleep in peace.

They're fit for a giant

linx757/reddit

Next to a Norwegian fjord in Stavanger, there stand three massive bronze swords. However, knowing that they're big isn't the same as seeing a couple looking like ants as they pass by the monuments.

The sword sculpture was made in the early '80s, but was built to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord, which took place in the year 873 and was important enough to inspire giant swords because it unified Norway.

It's easy to forget how heavy these loads really are

Townsend6657/reddit

While it's fairly easy to conceptualize mining excavators as giant dump trucks, it's even easier to underestimate how giant that actually is until we see someone standing on the bed of one of these things.

Even if the person in this picture is a child, she's still barely visible in the back of a bucket intended for a Big Muskie dragline excavator. Now imagine how much coal those things move every day.

These bananas could make some serious bread

Metallifan33/reddit

Although bananas can grow to be pretty large, most of us would expect the bigger bananas to be closer to the one on the left than the two most prominently displayed ones here.

Indeed, how many of us can say we've held a banana that stretched the length of an entire forearm? Not since we were kids, right?

It was hiding out here all along

xThayne/reddit

When the water levels of the Mississippi River became unusually low one day, this person found a rare opportunity to explore its banks. In the interest of scale, it's worth noting that he's about five feet and ten inches tall.

That means that this rogue piece of driftwood is as tall as a person and likely as long as at least three of them laying down in a row.

This person isn't short, the crosswalk is just really tall

odguy34/reddit

Unless an incredibly tall person is known to live here, it may be a little hard to appreciate why the button on this crosswalk is so high off the ground.

As it turns out, the reason is because this crosswalk seems to get a lot of traffic from those on horseback. As such, those riders can get the lights to change without getting off the horse.

Even with a drone's help, this would be tricky

Based on the ancient art people have etched into the Earth like the Nazca lines of Peru, it's clear that some artists have spatial reasoning skills that so many of us can't even comprehend.

After all, how else could they envision and complete such a stunning and cohesive image while appearing to barely take up an inch of it? It's mind-boggling to see.

Moose already get way bigger than people think

videochopper/reddit

Although most people don't quite realize how big moose are until they run into one, even the real animals aren't quite as big as this mall's Christmas display.

Rather than show Santa or Frosty, however, the mall's management decided that nothing gets people into the holiday spirit like a shining moose sculpture adored with lights and large enough for grown adults to walk under.

It's not the most exact measuring system

A1kaid/reddit

When Reddit user A1kaid shared this photo they came across on Facebook Marketplace, they didn't click in to see what this person is selling. Considering the color and make of its carrying case, it looks like it was once military equipment.

What we do know, however, is that whatever is in there, it's bigger than the seller. Maybe it's a helicopter blade? Hopefully, it's not as dangerous as a missile.

Everyone looks so happy to be there!

master-jono/reddit

Some research has suggested that elephants look at humans the same way that humans look at puppies, and this perspective-instilling photo makes it very easy to see how we come across that way.

So many people thought this was a wooden sculpture, but it's a real elephant who's having a wholesome, affectionate meeting with a five-foot ten human. Elephants are just that big.

Those who think they can take on an animal should see this

Savoie3333/reddit

While polar bears are some of the biggest (if not the biggest) bears nature has to offer, there's a difference between seeing how large they are compared to other bears and how large they are compared to us.

As this hand resting in a polar bear's footprint shows, it's clear that they could shake hands with the average person's entire torso, if they wanted to.

It's a good thing they're not around anymore

Angel_Blue01/reddit

Although sharks can be big and their teeth can be intimidating to match, museums like this give a clear picture of how much larger their ancestors were.

When a single tooth can take up most of the area of an adult human's hand, it's hard not to imagine how easily a creature like this could swallow us whole.

The difference is staggering and humbling

TravelWorld1510/reddit

This is a shot of the Tre Cime mountain range in Italy and while so many pictures are effective windows into this natural landmark's beauty, only this one begins to capture how massive it is.

It might almost seem climbable on its own, but those ambitions often scale back a lot when it's clear that two adults are practically little specks in this photo.

This isn't your average cactus

sdfdsv/reddit

Since some cacti can look similar in size to an adult person, it's easy to underestimate a cactus's size when it's shown on its own in photos. This one, however, proves its impressive height by towering over an adult in the desert.

It's already no fun to get poked by a cactus needle, but it must feel like wandering into a swordfight to get jabbed by this one.

There's a reason this wheel is so big

RobertThorn2022/reddit

Judging by the size difference between this display and the woman walking near it, it's abundantly clear how staggeringly large this object is. However, what isn't clear is what it is.

This isn't a weird Ferris Wheel or some kind of art project. Instead, this is the head of TRUDE, a massive boring machine that was used to build a tunnel below the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany.

This fortress definitely looks tall enough now

TodoLoQueCompartimos/reddit

Apparently, this tower stands as part of Monterrei castle, which is considered the best-preserved structure of its kind in Spain's Galicia region.

Its scale compared to the man standing in front of it certainly makes the case that it would be a hard fortress to storm. Even hundreds of years later, good luck getting through that on your own.