# Google **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 1999, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004 "1999-08-21T07:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 1999, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/1 "1999-08-21T07:47:00Z")
In mathematical circles does a google have any practical or real world application use? Or is it more or less a fun term? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 1999, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/2 "1999-08-21T11:19:00Z")
Just a fun term, basically. Better than saying “a zillion”, frinstance. [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgazilli.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgazilli.html) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 1999, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/3 "1999-08-21T12:41:00Z")
The mathematical term is spelled \* googol\*. However, the old cartoon strip character was Barney _Google_. And the most bestest search engine in the known universe is also [_Google_](http://www.google.com). ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@Joe\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Burns)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 1999, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/4 "1999-08-21T12:41:00Z")
If I’m not mistaken…and I might be, Google was the name of a character. That’s where the term “Googly eyes” comes from. (Those are the eyes that are white disc with a free floating black disc for the middle.) joe ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 1999, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/5 "1999-08-21T21:07:00Z")
The mathematician who coined the word googol to mean 10^100(actually, it was supposedly a suggestion from his young son) also came up with the googolplex, 10 to the power of a googol, or 10^10^100. My understanding is that mathematicians really do use these stupendously large numbers when working with theorems dealing with abstract mathematics. The Guinness Book of World Records lists as the largest number ever defined as a value inexpressible in conventional notation, concerning the properties of “polychromatic hypercubes”. ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 1999, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/6 "1999-08-22T01:46:00Z")
Sweet mama! ‘Barney Google, with the goo goo googly eyes, Barney Google ,had a wife three times his size.’ Barney Google was the name of the strip and the main character. Barney had a hillbilly cousin named Snuffy Smith, there was an uncanny resemblance between the two,and each had a huge wife. Snuffy gained popularity,the Sunday strip became’ Barney Google ,featuring Snuffy Smith,'then ‘Snuffy Smith, featuring Barney google’,finally ‘Snuffy Smith’ the daily is 'Barney Google and Snuffy Smith 'http://www.kingfeatures.com/comics/bgoogle/index.htm to see it. I couldn’t find google defined in any of my dictionaries! So don’t have an etymoligy. Eddie Cantor the musical actor, had googly eyes if you remember him. Google search gave me a googal of links for google. Most of them about itself.is that google called google because it ‘looks all around?’ I wonder if a googal of monkeys at a googal of drawing boards could come up with Barney Google? * * * “Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx ---
**Author:** ![Temujin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Temujin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temujin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/7 "1999-08-23T09:36:00Z")
Here’s another link: [http://www.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~fp/Tools/Googool.html](http://www.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~fp/Tools/Googool.html) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/8 "1999-08-23T14:40:00Z")
It was the nephew, not the son, of Edward Kasner. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/9 "1999-08-23T14:51:00Z")
When dealing with **really** huge numbers, I’ve usually seen measurements like “million billion” and that sort of thing…never have seen “googol” actually used to measure something… ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/10 "1999-08-23T22:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > In mathematical circles does a google have any practical or real world application use? > [@](#): > > ``` > When dealing with really huge numbers, I've usually seen measurements like "million > billion" and that sort of thing...never have seen "googol" actually used to measure > something... > > ``` Since when did practicallity have anything to do with the desire of scientists to create or name something. Scientists, and especially mathematicians, have no need to be practical. That’s someone elses job. Forget about the use for 10^100; there wasn’t a name for it, therefore we needed one. Something as beautifully harmonious as 10^100 couldn’t go without having a name for that long, now could it… If you people really get bored, I can tell you about all the wacky stuff chemists do just because it hasn’t been done yet. Ask me sometime about the real substance “windowpane” (and it’s derivative sidechain “windowpyl”) * * * Jason R Remy “No amount of legislation can solve America’s problems.” – Jimmy Carter (1980) ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 1999, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/11 "1999-08-24T03:55:00Z")
Jayron, you mean lysergic acid diethylamide ? ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 1999, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/12 "1999-08-24T05:44:00Z")
No, that would be “acid,” I mean the isomer of C9H16 that is shaped like a windowpane. They call it “windowpane” and its root is windowp-. I am not making this up. * * * Jason R Remy “No amount of legislation can solve America’s problems.” – Jimmy Carter (1980) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/13 "1999-09-01T05:32:00Z")
So C9H15COOH would be windowpanic acid? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/14 "1999-09-01T05:44:00Z")
The number called the ‘googol’ could also, and much more coherently, be called ten duotrigintillion, although that is by extrapolation from the conventional naming rules, which only ‘officially’ apply up to a mere vigintillion. NAME…ZEROES…“SERIES” thousand…3 million…6…1s billion…9 trillion…12 quadrillion…15 quintillion…18 sextillion…21 septillion…24 octillion…27 nonillion…30 decillion…33…10s undecillion…36 duodecillion…39 tredecillion…42 quattuordecillion…45 quintdecillion…48 sexdecillion…51 septemdecillion…54 octodecillion…57 novemdecillion…60 vigintillion…63…20s unvigintillion…66 duovigintillion…69 trevegintillion…72 quattuorvigintillion…75 quintovigintillion…78 sextovigintillion…81 septemvigintillion…84 octovigintillion…87 novemvigintillion…90 trigintillion…93…30s untrigintillion…96 duotrigintillion…99 ten duotrigintillion.100 \<–the “googol” trevigintillion…102 etc to\>\>\> quadragintillion…123…40s quinquagintillion…153…50s sexagintillion…183…60s septuagintillion…213…70s octogintillion…243…80s nonagintillion…273…90s centillion…303…100s This is a repost. Latin assistance was provided by Robert McKay \ from orig. AOL SBMD * * * Designated Optional Signature at Bottom of Post ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/15 "1999-09-01T16:08:00Z")
The reason you don’t see googol when people are measuring or counting something is that there isn’t enough stuff (time, meters, electrons) in the universe to come even barely remotely close to having a googol of it. (Except, of course if you arbitratily go really small and then multiply back up again [or vice versa], i.e. a googolth of a second times a googol equals a second.) P.S. Will someone teach me how to italicize in these things? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 1999, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/16 "1999-09-02T05:01:00Z")
\*whc03grady: P.S. Will someone teach me how to italicize in these things? \* If your HTML is ON, simply surround the text with a \ and a \ E.g.: \This is really important\ appears as: _This is really important_ ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 1999, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/17 "1999-09-01T18:22:00Z")
AHunter, if you would READ the prior posts, you would have seen that in the very SECOND POST in this topic, I gave a link to the Mailbag column that listed out all that crap that you so painstakingly typed. Would have saved yourself – and all future readers of this topic – a buncha time. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 1999, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google/3004/18 "1999-09-04T15:50:00Z")
Not entirely true; the link you posted “only” gives the names up to vigintillion, + centillion, googol, and googolplex, whereas I provided the extrapolated names (trigintillion, quadragintillion…nonagintillion). You wouldn’t want someone to be at a **loss** someday when they’re confronted a number with 160-some-odd zeros after it and trying to come up with the right name, now would you? PS–regarding the British naming system–I agree with those who say it does (would have) made more sense, with each full proper name consisting of a nice even million of the prior name, with x-iard for the 1000 in-between. See [http://members.aol.com/aacmrmaze/numberingsystems.html](http://members.aol.com/aacmrmaze/numberingsystems.html) for complete nomenclatures for both systems, which, assuming it remains, would be a better hyperlink to refer to. * * * Designated Optional Signature at Bottom of Post