# 1.2 The Page (The Shipping Container)  Suitcases (Tuples) are small, but the Lazy Elephant’s hands are enormous. If the elephant tried to pick up each suitcase individually, it would be exhausted before the first query even finished. To solve this, Postgres crams suitcases into standard-sized **Shipping Containers** called **Pages**. ## The Standard Size (8KB) In most Postgres universes, every single shipping container is exactly **8KB** in size. This is because the elephant (the storage manager) has a very specific set of gloves that can only grip containers of that exact dimensions. Whether a container is full of suitcases or mostly empty, the elephant always picks up the entire 8KB block. ## The Container Layout If you were to slice a shipping container open, you would see a very clever organization system designed to keep the container balanced: 1. **The Captain's Log (The Header):** At the very front of the container is a wobbly control panel (the PageHeaderData). It records the container's version, a checksum (to make sure nothing leaked), and pointers to where the empty space is. 2. **The Bungee Hooks (Item Identifiers):** Hanging from the ceiling of the container are a series of numbered hooks. Each hook points to a specific suitcase sitting on the floor. These hooks grow from the front toward the back. 3. **The Suitcases (Tuples):** The actual suitcases are stacked along the floor. They grow from the back toward the front. 4. **The Free Space (The Gap):** In the middle of the container is the **Free Space**. As more hooks are added and more suitcases are stacked, the gap in the middle gets smaller. When the hooks on the ceiling meet the suitcases on the floor, the container is full! No more luggage can be added until the robotic vacuum cleaner ([[Postgres/Architecture/MVCC|Vacuum]]) comes by to clear out any suitcases marked with a "Dead" stamp.