The Crazy Idea Strikes
Woke up last Tuesday scratching my head about weird body questions – don’t laugh! Got this sudden itch to figure out how many golf balls my stomach could hold. Yeah, sounds bananas. Thought about chugging golf balls like popcorn at first, but my brain screamed “DON’T BE AN IDIOT!” Stood in my kitchen holding one golf ball, staring at my belly like a weirdo.
Getting Down to Measurements
Grabbed the tape measure I use for craft projects. Snugged it around my belly button – about 36 inches. Remembered those high school math classes where they beat “πr²h” into our brains. Did rough math on a pizza box: Radius half of 36 inches is 18, times π is roughly 3.14, squared around 1000-ish… Hold up, stomach ain’t no perfect cylinder though. Felt kinda dumb pretending my gut works like a Pringles can.
Ways I tried eyeballing it:
- Filled bathroom sink with water
- Dunked a golf ball to see displacement
- Measured overflow with shot glasses (super messy!)
- Roughly 2 golf balls per cup of water
- Did NOT enjoy cleaning up wet floors after
The “Aha!” Moment
Realized I drink 2L water bottles daily. Chugged one while staring at my stomach stretching. Did that awkward poke-test: emptied belly feels squishy, full belly feels tight like a drum. Did the math: 2L bottle holds around 5-6 soda cans worth. If 12oz can fits maybe 20 golf balls? Nope – golf balls are way denser than soda! Each golf ball takes about half cup space, so one can fits roughly… 10 balls maybe? Numbers started swimming in my head like drunk bees.
Final Guesstimation
Took average stomach volume numbers online (careful avoiding weird medical sites!). Normal empty adult stomach? Ping pong ball size almost – that shocked me! Fully stuffed with buffet? Like two fists pumped up. Ballpark volume: 1200mL max. Measured golf ball volume with water dunk again – came to about 50mL each. Did the division: 1200 ÷ 50 = 24 balls max. Stared at my golf bag like it owed me money. That felt crazy low considering hot dog eating contests on TV! Figured stomachs can stretch scary far, but regular folks ain’t competitive eaters.
Bottom line: unless you’re training for Nathan’s hot dog contest, your stomach probably holds 10-25 golf balls MAX. Glad I tested with water instead of actual Titleists – dentist bills cost more than golf balls anyway!
