Ballpark
Puzzle #36 · 25 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 transistors are in Apple's M1 chip (2020)?
16B transistors
16 billion, on a 5-nanometer process. Apple said it was the most it had ever put into a chip. Source
Image: Sonic8400 · CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
2. How long is the Mississippi River, according to the US National Park Service?
2,350 miles
About 2,350 miles from its source at Lake Itasca. Water takes about three months to make the trip, and the Missouri is about 100 miles longer. Source
Image: Thomas Robertson · CC0
3. How many rooms does Buckingham Palace have?
775 rooms
775 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The front is 108 m long. Source
Image: Suicasmo · CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
4. How many passengers passed through London's Heathrow Airport in 2024?
83.9M passengers
A record 83.9 million, up about 6% from 79.2 million in 2023. Cargo volumes grew by 10% in the same year. Source
Image: Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz · CC BY 3.0, cropped
5. How many musicians played in the largest orchestra ever assembled, a Guinness World Records title set in Venezuela in 2021?
8,573 musicians
8,573 musicians from Venezuela's El Sistema youth programme, aged 12 to 77, played Tchaikovsky's Slavic March in Caracas on 13 November 2021. Source