# What comes after a trillion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001 "2012-12-14T04:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/41 "2012-12-19T12:04:49Z")
> [@tonyfop](#): > > I found a good explanation of what happened to devalue their currency here: > [http://www.forextraders.com/forex-analysis/forex-fundamental-analysis/currency-devaluation-examples.html](http://www.forextraders.com/forex-analysis/forex-fundamental-analysis/currency-devaluation-examples.html) > > Basically, they chopped 13 zeros off the currency, and set $1 = $Z6000. The way I calculate it, what you have there was worht approx. $0.016 in 2008. Since the current rate is $1 = $Z342, they must have devalued it again (or somehow they reigned in the inflation and caused deflation… I was doing some reading on this, and the currency was devalued by an impossible-to-comprehend 10^25 between 2006 and 2009. I think the only time I’ve ever seen numbers like that in any other context was when I was studying physics, and we had to calculate the gravitational force between planets. Bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/42 "2012-12-20T20:30:10Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > How many is a a Brazillian? [199,321,413](http://www.indexmundi.com/brazil/population.htmlhttp://) as of July this year. The nice thing about it is the number keeps getting bigger. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/43 "2012-12-22T16:41:43Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I still remember the pictures in my high school history textbook talking about hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic, and people literally sweeping deutchmarks off the street or using them as wallpaper. Same thing happened with Hungary in 1945-46. As far as I know, the Hungarian currency at the time, pengő, holds the record for hyperinflation. I present you with a 10[sup]20[/sup][note](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HUP_100MB_1946_obverse.jpg). The note says “százmillió b. pengő” on it. “Százmillió” means “one hundred million.” The “b.” is an abbreviation for “billion.” So that is 100 million billion pengő. And remember that this is long form “billion” so short scale “trillion.” In other words, using short scale nomenclature, that is a _sextillion_ pengő note. There is a note one power of ten higher than it, but it never circulated. ETA: And [here’s a guy sweeping cash off the street](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Inflaci%C3%B3_utan_1946.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![damagedgoods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecd19e/32.png) [@damagedgoods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/damagedgoods)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/44 "2012-12-23T08:47:00Z")
Nope.but close. According to American Heritagr dic. it’s QUINTilion,in America a one followed by 18 zero’s. Great Brit., the cardinal number represented by one folowed by thirty zero’s. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/45 "2012-12-23T10:02:26Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > These are the multiples-of-a-thousand numbers that I know of off the top of my head: > > 10^3 = Thousand > 10^6 = Million > 10^9 = Billion > 10^12 = Trillion > 10^15 = Quadrillion > 10^18 = Quintillion > 10^21 = Sextillion > 10^24 = Septillon > 10^27 = Octillion > 10^30 = Nonillion > 10^33 = Decillion I want to be able to call myself a “nonillionaire”. Or at least a “sextillionaire”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/46 "2012-12-23T16:50:55Z")
> [@damagedgoods](#): > > Nope.but close. According to American Heritagr dic. it’s QUINTilion,in America a one followed by 18 zero’s. Great Brit., the cardinal number represented by one folowed by thirty zero’s. Whoops. One hundred quintillion, not one sextillion. However, [here is an actual 1 sextillion pengo note](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HUP_1000MB_1946_obverse.jpg). Printed, but apparently never issued. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/47 "2012-12-23T19:12:59Z")
IMHO, if a government has to issue bills in denominations like those mentioned here, there is something VERY screwed up and you’d think they would come to their senses and do something about it long before they reach millions per note (the U.S. only ever went up to [$100,000](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_denominations_of_United_States_currency#.24100.2C000_bill), and only $10,000 for general currency, with $100 currently the largest denomination), much less impossibly large numbers like quintillions and sextillions (any idea how long it’d take to count that high? Try around 30 _million_ years to count to a quintillion at 1/second, over twice the age of the freaking _Universe_ for a sextillion). Even if it meant having to revalue the currency every week. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/48 "2012-12-23T19:40:03Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Even if it meant having to revalue the currency every week. In hyperinflation, even every week would be difficult to keep up with. [Look at this chart](http://www.infowars.com/weimar-germanys-hyperinflation-was-nothing-compared-to-other-countries/). In July 1946, the value of the Hungarian currency doubled _every 15 hours_. So that’s chopping off a zero every 2 days approximately. I assume that would just add to the chaos and confusion, with having to keep track of all the different bills and their relative values to the current currency, depending on what day it was issued. But, once they got to 1 sextillion, it looks like the Hungarians gave up. What they did do finally is begin restabilizing the currency in August 1946 with a new currency: the forint (which is the same currency they have today.) The exchange rate? Get this: One forint was was introduced at a rate of 1 forint = 400 _octillion_ pengő (4x10[sup]29[/sup] pengő). But that was mostly imaginary, as that many pengő did not exist in circulation. During this hyperinflationary period (Jan 1946 - July 1946), there was also a concurrenct currency called the [adopengő](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_money_of_the_Hungarian_ad%C3%B3peng%C5%91) that did operate more on the principle you’re proposing. Every day a new exchange rate between the adopengő and pengő was set. Somebody with a little more economic theory than I have can explain better how all this worked, though. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/49 "2012-12-24T17:35:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > There’s really only 5 numbers. > > None > > One > > Few > > Many > > Lots Stone age math, yes? One of the few things I retained from my middle school education. I remember it because I got hung up on, “How do they know _that_?” Same mindset that got me in trouble in chemistry when they started in on moles. “Many” and “lots” were never the right answer in chemistry. Which explains why cavemen never came up with nuclear fission. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001/50 "2012-12-24T18:29:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Whoops. One hundred quintillion, not one sextillion. Looks like you suffer from a nasty case of sexlexia. A [very sexy learning disorder](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_4Q6WfZNY). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-after-a-trillion/644001.md?page=2)