Originally posted by mikelomNo.
http://news.uk.msn.com/environment/wildlife/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=154739345&page=7
Surely that can't be right?? That equates to US$76,000 per rat per annum. (Assuming the US billion has 12 zeros)
That's more than the capita per citizen head. 😲
The US billion (is there any other kind? No, seriously) has nine zeroes.
That makes it what? $76 per rat then.
Originally posted by SuzianneYou are right, the US billion has always had 9 zeroes.
No.
The US billion (is there any other kind? No, seriously) has nine zeroes.
That makes it what? $76 per rat then.
The UK billion used to have 12 zeroes, but now the UK seems to have adopted the US billion to avoid confusion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales
For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, the United Kingdom uniformly used the long scale,[3] while the United States of America used the short scale,[3] so that usage of the two systems was often referred to as British and American respectively. In 1974, the government of the UK switched to the short scale, a change that is reflected in its mass media and official usage.[4][5][6][7] Although some residual usage of the long scale continues in the UK,[8] the phrases British usage and American usage are no longer accurate nor helpful characterisations.
Usage of the two systems can be a subject of controversy. Differences in opinion as to which system should be used can evoke resentment between adherents, while national differences of any kind can acquire jingoistic overtones.[9]