Life in proportion

Double-decker bus vs Blue whale

What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?

Two things. One honest scale.

Meet the pair

What these two things are

Double-decker bus

A double-decker bus is a passenger vehicle with two levels, used for public transport.

11 mLength

Blue whale

A blue whale is a baleen whale that feeds by filtering small animals from seawater.

25 mNose-to-tail length

The nose-to-tail length of Blue whale is about 2.27 times the length of Double-decker bus.

True scale
01
02
Blue whale25 mNose-to-tail length
Both marked spans share one linear scale. Artwork keeps its proportions; poses and surface detail are illustrative.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +

Double-decker bus

An 11 m long, 12 tonne example. Model and passenger load vary.

Defined examples — our methodology

The marked length is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.

Blue whale

A chosen 25 m, 100 tonne adult blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Population, sex and age matter: this is a representative comparison specimen, not a record animal.

NOAA Fisheries — Blue whale

The marked nose-to-tail length is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.

Change the comparison

Put something else beside it.

Measurement details

Why these numbers?

The visual compares length with nose-to-tail length. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.

Double-decker bus

11 m

Length · example

An 11 m long, 12 tonne example. Model and passenger load vary.

Blue whale

25 m

Nose-to-tail length · representative

A chosen 25 m, 100 tonne adult blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Population, sex and age matter: this is a representative comparison specimen, not a record animal.

Comparing
Length ↔ Nose-to-tail length
Relative size
Blue whale is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 2.27. Blue whale's selected measurement is approximately 127% greater than Double-decker bus's.

How to read the visual

The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.

  • Double-decker bus is labelled example; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
  • Blue whale is labelled representative; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.

There’s always another scale

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