That story was what got me using GNU Units. Which turns out to be a surprisingly powerful, and very much units aware, calculator.

Want to convert acreage into MWh of annual solar electric potential, or figure out the oil equivalent energy in a nation's poop? Units can do that. And much more.

Didn't someone prove this to be nonsense?

The author notes at the outset it's embellished to be entertaining, but nothing in the actual big seemed outlandish. The only thing that struck me as unlikely was that someone would actually work out and notice the radius. But I also know people like that, so I'd give the story the benefit of the doubt.

The user in the story is the chairman of statistics dept.

Don't ruin our industry's good anecdotes with reality!!!