Ballpark

1. How many times sweeter than table sugar is sucralose (sold as Splenda), according to the FDA?

600 times sweeter

About 600 times. Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, and advantame, the most intense on the FDA's list, about 20,000 times. Source

2. How many characters are defined in Unicode 16.0 (2024)?

154,998 characters

154,998. Version 16.0 added 5,185 new characters, including seven new scripts. Source

Image: ssr · Public domain

3. How many seconds did the first digital camera, built at Kodak in 1975, need to record one photo onto tape?

23 seconds

23 seconds, to save a 100-by-100-pixel black-and-white image on a cassette. The toaster-sized prototype weighed 3.6 kg. Source

4. How many laws are in the Code of Hammurabi, the ancient Babylonian law collection carved on a stone pillar?

282 laws

282 case laws, covering prices, trade, marriage, divorce and more. They were inscribed on a stela set up in Babylon's temple of Marduk. Source

Image: Fred Romero · CC BY 2.0, cropped

5. For how many years did Arthur Guinness lease his Dublin brewery site when he signed for it in 1759?

9,000 years

9,000 years, at an annual rent of £45. Arthur Guinness was 34 when he signed for the four-acre St. James's Gate site on 31 December 1759. Source

Image: dronepicr · CC BY 2.0, cropped