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Subject: 
Fw: Space Shuttle Costs
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Tue, 15 Dec 1998 19:35:23 GMT
Original-From: 
Tom Rowton <TROWTON@BROADCAST.COMnomorespam>
Viewed: 
1105 times
  
Would someone please enlighten those of us who clearly do not understand the
number system that the rest of the world uses, what the difference is
between 5,000,000,000 and 5 Billion?  Or is the US the only country that
recognises "billion" as a valid number? How about trillion?

I am seriously interested - this is not a thinly veiled jab. I would really
like to know, so hold the flamethrowers and let the information flow.

Thanks in advance,
trowt
-----Original Message-----
From: Pete Hardie <pete.hardie@dvsg.sciatl.com>
To: lego-robotics@crynwr.com <lego-robotics@crynwr.com>
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 1998 1:32 PM
Subject: Re: Space Shuttle Costs


Nick Taylor wrote:

Dear Mr. Rawding - - -
   To _most_ speakers of English 'five billion' does _not_ equal
5,000,000,000.

Can you point out some statistics that support this - I know that the
British hold this view, but I wonder about Canadians, Aussies, Indians,
etc.

Comments such as yours are what has given
rise to the "Ugly American" syndrome.

Hey, it's our shuttle.

and, BTW, 'Ugly American' syndrome is much more than simple word stuff,
or should I ask the British where the 'f' in lieutenant is?

--
Pete Hardie                   |   Goalie, DVSG Dart Team
Scientific Atlanta            |
Digital Video Services Group  |



Message has 5 Replies:
  Re: Fw: Space Shuttle Costs
 
From the Oxford English Dictionary: billion [pronunciation deleted since it does not map to ascii] [a. F. billion, purposely formed in 16th c. to denote the second power of a million (by substituting bi- prefix2 for the initial letters), trillion (...) (26 years ago, 15-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)
  Re: Fw: Space Shuttle Costs
 
In article <0a8801be2862$0ef0a2...onet.com>, Tom Rowton <trowton@broadcast.com> writes (...) Traditionally in England a billion is 1,000,000,000,000, and what an American calls a billion is known as a thousand million. However, because of the (...) (26 years ago, 15-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)
  Re: Fw: Space Shuttle Costs
 
(...) Silly British people and their ilk ( <-- unveiled jab!) think that a billion is not a thousand million, but rather a million million. In my humble opinion, it makes much more sense to say: 10 ^3 = thosand 10 ^6 = million 10 ^9 = billion 10^12 (...) (26 years ago, 15-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)
  Re: Space Shuttle Costs
 
U.S. elsewhere million 10 to the 6th 10 to the 6th billion 10 to the 9th 10 to the 12th trillion 10 to the 12th 10 to the 18th quadrillion 10 to the 15th 10 to the 24th quintillion 10 to the 18th 10 to the 30th I apologize to all (and David (...) (26 years ago, 15-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)
  Re: Fw: Space Shuttle Costs ** OFF TOPIC **
 
(...) One Billion is a Million Million. One Trillion is a Million Million Million. It seems that on your way across the Atlantic you threw the thousands overboard with all the "u"s... [That's a joke, don't flame me!] (26 years ago, 16-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)

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