What size was the ruler? 1 Mile? 1 Kilometer? 1 Meter? 1 Millimeter? 1 Micron?
Because, the trouble is, that the coastline (as with many things) has a fractal nature, such that zooming in reveals more detail, resulting in seeing more nooks and crannies, and traversing each level of finer detail yields a larger result.
You’d also have to factor in low and high tides, and even king tides where relevant.
(The article notes that the 95,000+ miles of the US coastline was defined by taking the largest and most detailed maps available at the time (1939-40), and using a machine to traverse the shoreline markings.)
Sonoran Conservative 
Slartibartfast smiles.
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What size was the ruler? 1 Mile? 1 Kilometer? 1 Meter? 1 Millimeter? 1 Micron?
Because, the trouble is, that the coastline (as with many things) has a fractal nature, such that zooming in reveals more detail, resulting in seeing more nooks and crannies, and traversing each level of finer detail yields a larger result.
You’d also have to factor in low and high tides, and even king tides where relevant.
(The article notes that the 95,000+ miles of the US coastline was defined by taking the largest and most detailed maps available at the time (1939-40), and using a machine to traverse the shoreline markings.)
LikeLiked by 1 person