What does a Trillion dollars look like?

[kcjenkins]

http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

/this is the best visual I've seen of what the difference between a million, a billion and a trillion actually is. A disscussion I've had with several recently. For those who prefer a more verbal approach, Thomas Sowell writes:

"One way to get some idea of the magnitude of a trillion is to ask: How long ago was a trillion seconds?

A trillion seconds ago, no one on this planet could read and write. Neither the Roman Empire nor the ancient Chinese dynasties had yet come into existence. None of the founders of the world's great religions today had yet been born. "

Or another way of putting it:

A million seconds is 13 days.

A billion seconds is 31 years.

A trillion seconds is 31,688 years.

A million minutes ago was – 1 year, 329 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes ago.

A billion minutes ago was just after the time of Christ.

A million hours ago was in 1885.

A billion hours ago man had not yet walked on earth.

A million dollars ago was five (5) seconds ago at the U.S. Treasury.

A billion dollars ago was late yesterday afternoon at the U.S. Treasury.

The country has not existed for a trillion seconds.

Western civilization has not been around a trillion seconds.

One trillion seconds ago – 31,688 years – Neanderthals stalked the plains of Europe.