A billion.
The next time you hear someone use the word “billion” casually, think about it, because a billion is a difficult number to comprehend. Maybe this will put things into perspective:
- A billion is written 1,000,000,000.
- A billion bytes of computer storage is referred to as a gigabyte.
- About a billion seconds ago, the parents of middle school children were themselves in elementary school.
- A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive, and the Roman Empire was flourishing.
- A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age (more precisely, the Middle Paleolithic).
- A billion days Australopithecus, an ape-like creature possibly related to an ancestor of modern humans, roamed the African savannas.
- A billion months ago dinosaurs walked the earth during the late Cretaceous Period.
- A billion years ago the first multicellular organisms appeared on Earth (assuming the universe is now about 13.7 billion years old).
- A billion inches is 15,783 miles, more than halfway around the world, and sufficient to reach any point on the globe from any other point.
A billion dollars lasts 10 weeks at the bankrupt Delta Air Lines. How much longer will I continue to receive a paycheck? Yes, I am depressed.
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