24 days ago
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Posted On: July 2nd 2026, 07:25 am
If you want to disturb yourself further with some even bigger numbers, I recommend (sort of š„“) Tim Urbanās article on Wait But Why: āFrom 1,000,000 to Grahamās Numberā. Be warned, Grahamās Number is a little š¤¢ but sometimes, reflecting on these ginormous numbers and the concept of infinity can put our own lives into perspective. And thatās worth doingā¦ at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
PS. See also āThe Sand Reckonerā, a 3rd century BC study by Greek mathematician Archimedes, in which he attempts to calculate the number of grains of sand it would take to fill the universe. He had to not only estimate the size of the universe, using the information they had available at the time, but he also had to invent a naming convention for the mindblowingly large numbers needed. He came up with an answer of 10ā¶Ā³, which might look pretty close but is nowhere near š« .
PPS. I notice that the naming rights for 10Ā³Ā¹ā“ is still up for grabsā¦
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#google #googol #maths #etymology
PS. See also āThe Sand Reckonerā, a 3rd century BC study by Greek mathematician Archimedes, in which he attempts to calculate the number of grains of sand it would take to fill the universe. He had to not only estimate the size of the universe, using the information they had available at the time, but he also had to invent a naming convention for the mindblowingly large numbers needed. He came up with an answer of 10ā¶Ā³, which might look pretty close but is nowhere near š« .
PPS. I notice that the naming rights for 10Ā³Ā¹ā“ is still up for grabsā¦
ā
ā
āļø
ā
#google #googol #maths #etymology
Comments (85)
10 days agozziel.1955
I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere
11 days agofreddyfrombrazil
Wait, who decides what a number is to be called? Can I just name an even bigger number and trademark it? Honestly interested in the answer
12 days agoramshigowri
how is there 10ā¹ā° grains of sand that can fit in thr universe but 10āøā° ATOMS?!
13 days agodonnap6286
ā¤ļøā¤ļø As always, great info, and even better puns!! I knew a child had come up with the name Google, but I didnāt know the rest of the story, so thank you!
16 days agoliorlamdan
I can imagine my body as Googol, i just cannot see what one is. Probably there's much?...
18 days agotostacostati
You're spectacularly smart, woman! ā¤ļø I wish I could say something fun or tricky using the word google or similar but I can't š
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