Ballpark
Puzzle #20 · 9 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. To what temperature can lightning heat the air it passes through?
50,000 °F
About 50,000 °F, hotter than the surface of the Sun, according to the US National Weather Service. Source
Image: Maxime Raynal · CC BY 2.0, cropped
2. How many carats did the Cullinan, the largest gem diamond ever found, weigh before it was cut?
3,106 carats
3,106 carats. Found near Pretoria in 1905, it was cut into nine large stones and 97 small brilliants; the biggest are in the British Crown Jewels. Source
Image: Paul Parsons · CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped
3. How many United States patents did Thomas Edison earn?
1,093 patents
1,093 US patents, plus at least several hundred more from Britain, France, Germany and other countries. Source
Image: Levin C. Handy · Public domain
4. How much did the US pay France for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, in dollars of the time?
15M US dollars
$15 million for 530 million acres, which works out to less than 3 cents an acre. Source
5. How old is the oldest bread ever found?
14,400 years
About 14,400 years: charred flatbread from a hunter-gatherer site in Jordan, baked at least 4,000 years before farming. Source
Image: Jonathunder · CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped