Some Excel spreadsheets have achieved legendary status due to their size. Across rows and columns, complex formulas, strange combinations, calculations that only their creator understands… the list goes on. But how far can it go? An Excel sheet has 1,048,576 rows, and with different shortcuts it is possible to reach the bottom quite quickly. However, YouTuber Hunter Hobbs decided to take the long way: only using the down arrow, without pauses. How long do you think it took…?
I have never had much exposure to Excel. In fact, I abandoned the Office suite completely once Google Docs reached an acceptable level for daily work, and I still spend most of my hours inside the word processor. Many of my contacts cannot say the same, and the spreadsheets they have created over the years have become indispensable tools, lifelines, nightmares… everyone chooses their own description.
A question that occasionally comes up is how large an Excel spreadsheet can actually be, but we first need a better idea of the size. YouTuber Hunter Hobbs took this as a challenge and sat down at his computer, determined to find out:
The test means no breaks, not even to eat or go to the bathroom, and he could only use the down arrow, with nothing on it except a finger (though he was allowed to switch fingers). The Ctrl+Down shortcut was also prohibited, so he spent a lot of time sitting. An Excel sheet has 1,048,576 rows (1,024^2 or 100000000000000000000 in binary), and even with keyboard repeat optimizations, it is one of the most frustrating patience exercises we have seen. The total time was 9 hours, 36 minutes, and 10 seconds (yes, the video preview gives the answer).
What did he gain? Just over a million hits on YouTube, some insults in the comments (when not?) and probably a world record, because I don't know of anyone who has done something like that before. Now, for those who ask about columns, it doesn't make much sense to make a video because there are only 16,384. The exact specifications are available on the official page.
