> In North America, the word we use to describe a quantity equivalent to a thousand million is one "billion". In the U.K., I've been told -- i.e. so I've heard -- that a "billion" means something else. It could mean something general, more random and less exact, such as a million million. Similar to the way I might describe an impossibly huge number as "eleventy-thirty bajillion."
>
> So is it true that a billion does not mean 1,000,000,000 in Britain?
> I suppose this might be one reason to explain why there are no British billionaires.
>
> Wolf "WWTBAB?" spirit

It used to be thus:

In the US, the way to go up the ranks, as it were, was to multiply by 1,000. Thus, one million = 1,000 x One thousand. One Billion = 1,000 x One Million and so on...

In the UK, it was the case to square the previous amount. One million = One thousand x One thousand. One billion = One million x One million and so on...

It is coincidence that the million amounts were the same.

It has since been realised that the US way was a better way of doing things as you got more realistic amounts and eliminated the need for amounts like "Thousand Billion" and "Million Trillion."

At least in newspaper terms this has been adopted, but I don't know if the scientific community has taken it up yet.


Bea"Billionaire! Oh, I wish!"