What is the longest river in the world?

You’d think measuring the distance of a river would be straightforward, but no, like everything else these days it gets really complicated and people get in heated debates about it.

Alright, maybe not “heated debates,” but it’s not nearly as easy and straightforward as one might think. To measure a river’s length, you have to take into account the river’s source, the mouth of the river, and consider the so-called coastline paradox — the fact that the system of measurement can never be perfect when measuring the coastline of a landmass. In other words, when measuring something like a coastline (or a river), there are lots of little nuances, and measuring something over very long distances requires coming up with a system that may not be consistent.

Yeah, now my brain hurts and I don’t want to think about any of this anymore. I just want to get in an innertube and ride in a lazy river at a waterpark.

Despite all the debate and furor over river length, there is general agreement on one that is indeed the longest on the planet. Which river is it?