# One Million Dollars **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943 "2002-12-31T21:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CaptBilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CaptBilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBilly)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/1 "2002-12-31T21:34:32Z")
Can anyone tell me what the weight and size (cubic volumn) of one million dollars. In different movies it seems to be all different sizes. Thanks CaptBilly:confused: ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/2 "2002-12-31T21:44:31Z")
That shouldn’t be too hard. What units would you like to use? Haj ---
**Author:** ![CaptBilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CaptBilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBilly)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/3 "2002-12-31T21:47:34Z")
One hundred dollar bills. They don’t circulate anything bigger. CaptBilly ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/4 "2002-12-31T21:47:48Z")
It depends on whether it’s all in hundreds, or if fives, tens, and twenties are mixed in. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/5 "2002-12-31T21:51:46Z")
A bill is 6 1/8" by 2 5/8". A hundred of them is maybe an inch thick (think of a hundred new bills at the bank). You need 10,000 c-notes, so 100 of those hundred bill stacks. That’s 1601 cubic inches, about, or .926 cubic feet. ---
**Author:** ![teemingONE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@teemingONE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teemingONE)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/6 "2002-12-31T21:56:18Z")
how probable is it that i can become a millionaire by asking 1 million people for 1 dollar? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/7 "2002-12-31T21:56:18Z")
From [here](http://www.moneyfactory.gov/document.cfm/18/106) , a U.S. bill weighs about 1 gram. There are 10,000 one-hundred dollar bills in $1,000,000 so that would weigh 10 kg or about 22 lbs. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Church\_Key\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Church\_Key\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Church_Key_Kid)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/8 "2002-12-31T22:07:03Z")
> [@](#): > > how probable is it that i can become a millionaire by asking 1 million people for 1 dollar? Not very. Considering that sites like Save Karyn and Give me a Dollar have only pulled in a few to several thousand dollars, it’s highly doubtful that you could collect a million dollars, even on the internet. Now asking people to give you a penny a day, 2 pennies the next, 4 pennies the next, and so on… that might work. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/9 "2002-12-31T22:20:21Z")
I’ve heard somebody give a figure of 40 lbs for a million in $100’s. That isn’t neccesarily inconsistent with the link provided above - 1 gram is an approximation, and is probably for a new bill. They probably get a bit heavier by picking up dirt as they are circulated. The freshness of the bills would also influence how tightly you could package them. I’m willing to bet that the practical space required for a million dollars in used $100’s is going to be significantly greater than for crisp new ones. At any rate, a moderate sized suitcase seems to be about right. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/10 "2002-12-31T22:38:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bup \* > \*\*A bill is 6 1/8" by 2 5/8". A hundred of them is maybe an inch thick (think of a hundred new bills at the bank). > > You need 10,000 c-notes, so 100 of those hundred bill stacks. > > That’s 1601 cubic inches, about, or .926 cubic feet. \*\* Much thinner. Thin card stock like old punch cards were 100 to the inch. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/11 "2002-12-31T22:46:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fatdave \* > Now asking people to give you a penny a day, 2 pennies the next, 4 pennies the next, and so on… that might work. But it would be heavy: over 300 tonnes. [100 million pennies](http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/eight.asp) = US$ one million ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/12 "2002-12-31T23:45:04Z")
Some casino in Vegas used to have $1 million on display as [100 $10,000 dollar bills.](http://gaming.unlv.edu/WSOP/Photos/Inside/9130_6display.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/13 "2003-01-01T07:11:25Z")
It’s bigger than most of the movies show. [Too big for a “standard” briefcase](http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/million/million.html). (The average briefcase only holds $780,000) ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-million-dollars/145943/14 "2003-01-01T07:16:30Z")
Somebody wanna throw an ending quote in [the link](http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/million/million.html) in my previous post? Pweeze? :sad puppy face: