# one thousand one, one thousand two ...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 29, 2001, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709 "2001-04-29T05:54:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/1 "2001-04-29T05:54:22Z")

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Anyone know the origin of this becoming the universally accepted way to count off seconds? What about “one Mississippi; two Mississippi?”

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**Author:** ![samboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@samboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samboy)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/2 "2001-04-29T06:38:28Z")

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Going out on a limb I think it might be because it takes about one second to say “one thousand xxxx”. So you can count seconds.

This is why

“Antidisestablishment one, Antidisestablishment two”

doesnt work as well. ha ha.

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**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/3 "2001-04-29T14:30:09Z")

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Understood, samboy. But any four- or five-syllable phrase, spoken in the proper timing, would do the trick.

How did it come to be that everyone seems to use the two that I mention in my OP? And can their origins be traced?

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**Author:** ![tourbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@tourbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tourbot)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/4 "2001-04-29T16:20:54Z")

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When I was a kid, we used to count “alligators”. One alligator, two alligator, etc.

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**Author:** ![bryanmcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@bryanmcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmcc)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/5 "2001-04-29T20:44:11Z")

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I’ve heard people count: “One hippopotamus, two hippopotamus…”

-b

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**Author:** ![Amedeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Amedeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amedeus)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/6 "2001-04-29T21:00:11Z")

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We used to count one (EDITED) one, one (EDITED) two, ect.  
😃

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**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/7 "2001-04-29T23:19:50Z")

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Actually we used to say “One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand…” or “one mississippi…”

Eventually somebody’d say “one Mrs. Pissy” and we’d all start laughing and so much for that.

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**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-thousand-one-one-thousand-two/63709/8 "2001-04-30T02:03:33Z")

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Not that I am helping out any here, but so far every way that someone has mentioned they counted I have heard used. So it seems that what **Milossarian** said about words that are 4-5 syllables is probably right.