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ScienceSurprise 4/5Difficulty 3/5Reviewed on September 13, 2026

There are more ways to shuffle a 52-card deck than there are atoms on Earth.

Why it is true

The number of possible combinations of a 52-card deck is 52 factorial, a number with 68 digits. It is much larger than the estimated number of atoms on Earth, about 10 to the power of 50. That is why every well-shuffled deck is probably unique in history.

Source: Mathematical Association

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