Ballpark

Puzzle #26 · 15 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 much did the 4 GB original iPhone cost at launch in the US in 2007?

499 US dollars

$499 for 4 GB of storage. The 8 GB model cost $599. Source

Image: Eli Duke · CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped

2. What is the face value of the largest-denomination note the US has ever printed?

100,000 US dollars

$100,000. The 1934 gold certificate was printed for about three weeks and only ever used between Federal Reserve Banks. Source

Image: National Photo Company Collection · Public domain

3. How many piano keys are on a standard piano?

88 keys

88: 52 white, 36 black. Source

Image: Aaron Cortazar · CC BY 3.0, cropped

4. How many steps a day does the average American take, per a 2017 smartphone study?

4,774 steps

4,774 in a 2017 Nature study of phone data. The 10,000 target began as a 1960s pedometer marketing slogan. Source

Image: Patrick Nouhailler · CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped

5. How many kanji are on Japan's official jōyō list of characters for everyday use, as revised in 2010?

2,136 characters

2,136 characters: 1,026 taught in primary school and another 1,110 in secondary school. The tōyō kanji list it replaced in 1981 had 1,850. Source

Image: Douglas Perkins · CC BY 4.0, cropped