Posted On:
February 5, 2009
What Exactly Is A Billion?
We keep hearing about billions of dollars. The billions Madoff stole. The billions in the stimulus package. But how many of us really understand the concept of how much even one billion is?
The simple answer is that one billion equals 1,000 millions. But even that doesn't really help. To put the number 1 billion in perspective, take a look at these examples:
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
A billion minutes ago Jesus walked the earth.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the stone age.
How long would it take to count to one billion? If you count one number a second without stopping until you reach a billion, that task would take you 31 years, 259 days, 1 hours, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds.
