this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025
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[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 68 points 3 days ago (6 children)

So, a typical snail moves at around 0.0048 km/h, and are around 1 cm tall. The snail in the image appears to be more than 3-4 stories tall, let's say 15 m. If the speed scales linearly with size, this snail could move at around 7.2 km/h.

So yeah, a very brisk walk for your life should just about keep you out of reach if you're in decent shape.

[–] beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

I was thinking this might be the case, but didn't want to do the math. Thank you.

[–] LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone 27 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It was an asymptomatic smash!

[–] kryptonite@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Or even asymptotic.

[–] kemsat@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I was hoping someone had calculated how quickly a snail that size would move, and you did not disappoint!

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

the problem is snails harbor tons of parasites, the slime it leaves will just infect everyone in its wake.

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Your linked source doesn't appear to list that number (It lists 8 cm a minute).

Perhaps you (or a large language model, if you're using one) has it mixed up with this:

"Snails have been measured at speeds of 0.048 kilometres per hour."

From this source.

Also, 1 cm tall would be a very small snail... Approximately the size of your smallest fingernail.

[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

8 cm/min * 60 min/h * 1e-5 km/cm = 0.0048 km/h

If I'm not completely mistaken.

I'll admit that the "1 cm tall" is guesstimated based on my memory of the snails in my garden.

The linked source also mentions that some snails can be up to ten times as fast as the typical 8 cm/min (0.0048 km/h), but those appear to be maritime snails, while the snail in the image seems to be terrestrial.

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

Oh yeah you're right 👍

The source I found appears to list the wrong figure.

[–] Wilco@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

Yea, yea ... you have the math for a snail. Impressive. Could a bird carry it and drop it on people? How big would it have to be? Could you outrun it? What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?

[–] TomMasz@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Saunter at your own peril.

[–] deadcream@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 days ago

Unless it's a carnivorous snail