Ballpark
Puzzle #9 · 28 September 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 does Uluru weigh, counting only the part above ground, per a 2018 estimate by the Northern Territory Geological Survey?
1.43B metric tons
About 1,425,000,000 tonnes. Uluru rises 348 m above the surrounding plain and is 9.4 km around. Source
Image: Jburger234 · CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
2. How much did the US Congress appropriate for the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II, in dollars of the time?
13.3B US dollars
$13.3 billion over four years. President Truman signed the act on 3 April 1948; it is named for Secretary of State George Marshall. Source
Image: U.S. National Archives · Public domain
3. How much did the only 1933 Double Eagle gold coin that is legal to own sell for at auction in June 2021?
18.9M US dollars
$18.9 million at Sotheby's, a world record for a coin. Its face value is $20, and the seller had paid $7.59 million for it in 2002. Source
Image: Jaclyn Nash, National Numismatic Collection · Public domain
4. How many billionaires were on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list in 2024?
2,781 billionaires
2,781, a record at the time, worth $14.2 trillion combined. The US alone had 813 of them. Source
5. How far is the shortest route for an English Channel swim?
21 miles
About 21 miles (32 km), from near Dover to Cap Gris Nez. The fastest swim took a little over 7 hours. Source
Image: Immanuel Giel · CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped