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Wednesday, 10 March 2010


Scientists want a new name for number 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Scientists want a new name for number 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Ten of thousands of people have joined an internet campaign to re-name the above number. (Oh, okay, I'll write it again… 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. There you go.)

The most popular suggestion for the mega-figure is thankfully only five letters long. It is a slang word called "hella", which has received lots of support from scientists.

The world “hella” means “a lot” in American slang, for example someone might say: “That’s a hella money you’ve got there” - meaning they've got lots of cash. Because of its “street meaning,” many people think "hella" is an appropriate word to describe a number with 27 zeros.

20,000 people offered their support on facebook by joining an online group to get the number changed and "hella" made into a recognised measurement, like kilo or mega.


What do you think of the word hella, then? Would you pick anything different? Do you think big numbers like the one above need serious names, or should they be more lighthearted?





What do you think? Leave a comment below to let us know!

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41 Comments


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  • Dymond (Age 14) wrote on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 @ 20:34

    dymonds

  • yolo10 (Age 12) wrote on Friday, 12 March 2010 @ 19:44

    I think they should call it dillion

  • Warlock (Age 9) wrote on Saturday, 13 March 2010 @ 12:35

    what's wrong with Octillion?

  • homed (Age 13) wrote on Saturday, 13 March 2010 @ 12:41

    i think thats fine but realy worthy making news story about

  • Allybaba2 (Age 11) wrote on Sunday, 14 March 2010 @ 13:27

    I think it should be called vansetion

  • kieran (Age 9) wrote on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 @ 06:56

    whats the point tho i dont get it

  • gibson1066 (Age 13) wrote on Saturday, 20 March 2010 @ 15:43

    twentysevenillion

  • Rocker (Age 12) wrote on Friday, 7 May 2010 @ 08:21

    I think they should call it a dillion

  • cookie2000 (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 11 September 2010 @ 16:11

    Twentysevenillion sounds good

  • cookie2000 (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 11 September 2010 @ 16:12

    twentysevenillion sounds good

  • Anya2000 (Age 11) wrote on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 @ 22:03

    shillion

  • Anya2000 (Age 11) wrote on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 @ 22:04

    gittillion... argh it really is hard, i think yours is good cookie2000

  • Anya2000 (Age 11) wrote on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 @ 22:08

    hella sounds good, maybe that is because i used to live in america............ though this is a number only scientists are going to talk about so something serious and scientific; one-two-seven-0( 0 is o)

  • SuperSuze (Age 13) wrote on Thursday, 28 October 2010 @ 16:12

    I don't know...

  • redhorse10 (Age 13) wrote on Wednesday, 2 February 2011 @ 17:47

    This article was writen on my birthday!! :D!! Anyway, maybe they could call it a million gazillion or something...

  • coolcat360 (Age 12) wrote on Thursday, 3 February 2011 @ 18:47

    i think they should call it killion

  • Rabia12345 (Age 12) wrote on Friday, 4 March 2011 @ 15:08

    What do you think of the word hella, then? Would you pick anything different? Do you think big numbers like the one above need serious names, or should they be more lighthearted? no name it sumthing else!

  • Ejc (Age 10) wrote on Sunday, 13 March 2011 @ 19:21

    huh hu huh huh huh huh huh

  • Charnock18 (Age 12) wrote on Saturday, 19 March 2011 @ 21:49

    Gabadillion.

  • Millz8 (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 2 April 2011 @ 12:54

    No one's suggested this: a gaziliooon or a hakf or last and best is a fantastmazing

  • jack66 (Age 11) wrote on Monday, 4 April 2011 @ 19:10

    Hey a billion and a trillion put together make a tribillion!!! Jack66 At your service

  • jack66 (Age 11) wrote on Monday, 4 April 2011 @ 19:13

    i think it should be a brimillion

  • HIGHSTED (Age 12) wrote on Sunday, 24 April 2011 @ 15:59

    Trazilion

  • florajrf (Age 9) wrote on Saturday, 30 April 2011 @ 18:01

    I think we should call it a Zeelagon because it is a extraudinary number that needs a cool and wacky name !!!!!!!

  • florajrf (Age 9) wrote on Saturday, 30 April 2011 @ 18:07

    I think we should call it a Zeelagon.

  • florajrf (Age 9) wrote on Monday, 2 May 2011 @ 21:30

    extraordinary even! LOL!!!

  • mogi (Age 9) wrote on Friday, 12 August 2011 @ 18:29

    It should be called a Nillion. Wackily Crazily Amazing. A Nillion would totally WCA

  • redhotstig (Age 12) wrote on Saturday, 20 August 2011 @ 09:51

    twensevellion

  • HaloChief (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 17 September 2011 @ 17:29

    It should be: twenty,seven-zero

  • macfan (Age 12) wrote on Tuesday, 20 September 2011 @ 18:20

    What about nicten

  • macfan (Age 12) wrote on Monday, 3 October 2011 @ 21:27

    or Einsteinwen, maby Einstein

  • macfan (Age 12) wrote on Monday, 3 October 2011 @ 21:27

    E=mc2

  • sloth (Age 10) wrote on Thursday, 6 October 2011 @ 17:14

    a quadduplazbilllion

  • hamster1 (Age 11) wrote on Thursday, 20 October 2011 @ 15:12

    It should be called one non-trillthion because it has 9 sets of "three 'zeroes'".

  • princessKG (Age 10) wrote on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 @ 12:31

    collion

  • naoise2001 (Age 10) wrote on Saturday, 29 October 2011 @ 12:17

    gizzilion

  • vivk1 (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 26 November 2011 @ 18:29

    Hellinion it should be called

  • hamster1 (Age 11) wrote on Thursday, 1 December 2011 @ 20:37

    It's 1 to the power of 27 and a 27 sided shape is called icosikaiheptagon. If you turned that to millions it would be one icosikaiheptILLION

  • hamster1 (Age 11) wrote on Friday, 2 December 2011 @ 20:46

    Multi-double-quadrilateral-hundred-thousand

  • Awesomekid (Age 9) wrote on Thursday, 19 January 2012 @ 05:54

    twentysevenainen

  • daisy933 (Age 10) wrote on Thursday, 2 February 2012 @ 18:18

    I don't approve of using slang to name numbers, although I don't really have any suggestions.