Wednesday, March 18, 2009

What does a trillion dollars look like?

We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. Denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slightly fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go..


A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.






Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.



While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet.


And $1 BILLION dollars... Now we're really getting somewhere.





Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing about so much. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion.. It's a one followed by 12 zeros.
Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars. And notice those pallets are double stacked.
So, the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"....that's what they're talking about.







6 comments:

kkdither said...

Umm, did someone say a week or two of shamefully decadent fun? I don't need trillions...

OrbsCorbs said...

Yeah, I'd be happy with one of those less than 1/2" thick piles.

hale-bopp said...

It really is important to remember the significance of adding those zeroes. Science teachers try to drill in the importance of the Powers of 10 (sometimes using the classic video of the same name) but it really doesn't seem to sink in.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing in life to compare anything to trillions except maybe stars in the sky. Very hard to comprehend except it is a BIG number. I mean even the world population isn't that large.

Unknown said...

Alright you guys I'll just need one pallet this year as my bonus.

kkdither said...

Abby, remember you are a contract employee of the JTI. We haven't even started thinking about your yearly review.... :)