# British vs American Billions... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2000, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206 "2000-10-09T00:30:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qasper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/59ef9b/32.png) [@Qasper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qasper)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/1 "2000-10-09T00:30:28Z")
Hi. Anybody know what the heck the british billion is worth 1,000,000,000,000 whereas the american billion is merely worth 1,000,000,000? I guess my real question is, why on earth hasn’t it been standardized yet? One would think we’d all want to be talking the same numbers, no? Anybody? (my head hurts…) Thanks and good day. -Q- ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/2 "2000-10-09T01:02:43Z")
IIRC: everyone agrees that one thousand thousands makes one million. Logicqally then, the Brits and Germans expext a million millions to make one billion, while the Americans and French only require one thousand millions. As far as us all “talking” the same numbers, it seems we are, since Bill Gates is called a software billionaire in both the American and English media. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/3 "2000-10-09T02:45:38Z")
IIRC the brits have adopted the American counting system. I think only the hoity-toity (read, most of them) still use the million, milliard, billion, billiard thing. This is outdated because billiards are to be enjoyed with good company and beer. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/4 "2000-10-09T13:02:24Z")
We get the BBC World Report on National Public Radio here (although not as frequently as I would like). The news reader made mention of “one billion”, then said, “That’s one thousand million”. So it seems the BBC means 1,000,000,000 when they say “billion”. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/5 "2000-10-09T13:19:17Z")
We Brits adopted the international billion many years ago. As far as I recall, older folks still used the old “British” billion for a while, but it isn’t in common usage any more. It never occurs to me to question whether a bilion means anything other than ten to the nine. How hoity-toity does that make me? ---
**Author:** ![Qasper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/59ef9b/32.png) [@Qasper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qasper)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/6 "2000-10-09T14:48:59Z")
Thanks for the cues. I figured as much (that every one was going the way of the thousands instead of the millions), but encyclopedias (online and others) are still outdated in this regard… That’s what threw me for a loop. Tansu, you scientist you, your hoity toityness is justified - as it is what all serious numbers-cruncher should do. Cheers! -Q- ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/7 "2000-10-09T15:01:23Z")
**Johnny LA** - If you are interested maybe this could help. The best for news are the World Service and Radio 4 [http://search.bbc.co.uk/audiovideo/](http://search.bbc.co.uk/audiovideo/) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/8 "2000-10-09T15:49:36Z")
Thanks, **London\_Calling** ; but we don’t have sound cards on our computers at work. I’ve already been busted for having my personal laptop on my desk, so anything I listen to has to be over the air. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Nukeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Nukeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nukeman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/9 "2000-10-09T19:00:46Z")
Tansu is right. Having a billion as a million million is just absurd - it should go up at regular intervals. No one in Britain says ‘a thousand million’ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/10 "2000-10-09T20:20:12Z")
> [@](#): > > No one in Britain says ‘a thousand million’ Except the BBC! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/11 "2000-10-10T00:41:30Z")
And me! I’ve always thought it funny that everyone said (please, I’m not being anti-American!) that the American’s pride themselves on doing things bigger & better than everyone else, but our billions were bigger. Whenever someone says billion, I ask them whether they mean american or english billions so that I know what number we’re talking about (10[sup]9[/sup] or 10[sup]12[/sup] would be so much easier…) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/12 "2000-10-10T01:17:29Z")
When I was an undergrad (in America), we were encouraged to use “thousand million” instead of “billion”, as the new standard. Of course, scientific notation is preferable to either. ---
**Author:** ![Qasper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/59ef9b/32.png) [@Qasper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qasper)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/13 "2000-10-10T14:01:47Z")
When in the midst of a newscast or a debate, let’s face it, “billion” flows alot better than “ten to the twelth”. So why don’t we just standardize it? Who’s in charge, here?! Let’s all adopt the american billion and maybe then (finally) they’ll snap out of their stupor and go metric. Sounds like a fair trade to me… 😉 -Q- ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/14 "2000-10-10T14:08:40Z")
Not that the British have gone completely metric, either. (Although everyone certainly should.) In fact distances are still listed in miles around here, and I’ve heard people here get rather edgy upon being told their cheese weights in grams. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-american-billions/36206/15 "2000-10-10T14:50:09Z")
The thing that gets me is Fahrenheit. I have to think a bit to understand temperatures in Fahrenheit. When someone says it’s 18 degrees, I have an idea of what temperature that is. What’s that in Fahrenheit? Dunno. I’d guess about 61. I can’t be arsed to do a proper conversion. Just as older people are less comfortable with the Celsius scale, I’m less comfortable with the Fahrenheit scale because I have very little experience with it. I’m thankful I was born after we converted to decimal currency. Hell, I sound like a whiny little punk. I still bake cakes in ounces, though 🙂