Ballpark

Puzzle #12 · 1 October 2026

The five questions from that day's Ballpark, each with its answer, the fact behind it and a link to the source. Rather play it first? It is in the archive.

1. How many legs does the leggiest known millipede have (a species described in 2021)?

1,306 legs

1,306 legs. Eumillipes persephone, found 60 m underground in Western Australia, is the first millipede to top 1,000. The old record was 750. Source

Image: Paul Marek · CC BY 4.0, cropped

2. How many active satellites were orbiting Earth as of September 2026?

16,810 satellites

About 16,800 as of Sept 2026, and roughly two-thirds of them are SpaceX Starlinks. Source

Image: NASA Hubble Space Telescope · Public domain

3. About how many glaciers are there in the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization in 2025?

275,000 glaciers

More than 275,000, covering about 700,000 square km. Glaciers and ice sheets store about 70% of the world's fresh water. Source

Image: Dirk Beyer · CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped

4. What is the greatest depth ever measured in the Congo, the world's deepest river?

220 meters

At least 220 m, found in the Lower Congo in July 2008 by scientists from the US Geological Survey and the American Museum of Natural History. Source

Image: MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani · CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped

5. How many phone calls at once could TAT-8, the first transatlantic fiber-optic cable (1988), carry?

40,000 calls

The equivalent of 40,000 calls, ten times the capacity of the last copper cable. It ran 6,700 km from Cornwall to New Jersey. Source

Image: Annatsach · CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped