If you removed all the empty space from all atoms in all humans, every person on Earth would fit in a sugar cube
Some trivia is so bizarre it forces you to rethink your entire understanding of the world. Check out the fact below, see how others reacted, and scroll down to dive into the verified science and history behind it.
Atoms are almost entirely empty space. A typical atom is about 99.9999999999996% empty — the nucleus occupies a tiny fraction of the atom's total volume. If you compressed all the atoms in every human body by removing the empty space, leaving only the subatomic particles, all 8 billion humans would fit into a cube roughly 1cm on each side. The same calculation for the entire planet Earth produces a sphere about the size of a golf ball.
Solidity is the most direct and reliable experience of physical reality — things feel solid, they hold weight, they resist pressure. Finding that solid objects are almost entirely vacuum, and that all of humanity could fit in a sugar cube, makes matter feel genuinely strange.
The Science Behind It
Atoms are almost entirely empty space. A typical atom is about 99.9999999999996% empty — the nucleus occupies a tiny fraction of the atom's total volume. If you compressed all the atoms in every human body by removing the empty space, leaving only the subatomic particles, all 8 billion humans would fit into a cube roughly 1cm on each side. The same calculation for the entire planet Earth produces a sphere about the size of a golf ball.
Why Your Brain Finds This Hard to Believe
Sources & Verification
OddlyHuman Editors
VerifiedWritten and fact-checked by the OddlyHuman Behavioral Science Team. We verify all psychological, sociological, and historical claims against peer-reviewed journals, primary sources, and established encyclopedias to bring you accurate insights.
Read our Editorial Guidelines →“If you removed all the empty space from human atoms, every person alive could fit in a sugar cube. Every atom is 99.9999999999996% empty space. Solidity is mostly an illusion. ⬜ #OddlyHuman”