I'm shocked that there are so many repos. To be sure, are these all really separate repos and not just directories?

I've only worked at monorepo companies, and when I see the "monorepo vs. multiple repo" debates, I always picture in my mind that we're arguing about 1 vs. maybe 5 or 6 repos--like a repo for each major project. But thousands of repos, one for every little nugget??? That is totally wild. Is this an actual industry practice?