We’ve Looked At Beautiful Numbers, Now How About Some Really BIG ones!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Taking a break from the funny stuff today.

A while ago I did a post about Beautiful Numbers. And yesterday I was having a look at the debt situation in various countries, which sparked off this post about numbers, BIG ones. 

I will post links to the US debt figures and a couple of others at the end of this post. They are kind of fascinating because they are real-time counters, continually updating.

However, to get on with the post, everybody knows 1 (one), 10 (ten), 100 (hundred), 1,000 (thousand), and 1,000,000 (million). We are all familiar with 1,000,000,000 (billion) although none of us have ever counted that far. In fact oil mogul John Paul Getty once said that if you could count your money you weren’t a billionaire. I can, and I’m not, so perhaps he was right!

And, thanks to the massive debt that the US and other countries are building up, we are also getting more and more familiar with 1,000,000,000,000 trillion.

After that, however, most people would be stuck. Here are the next big numbers.

1,000,000,000,000,000 quadrillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000 quintillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sextillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 septillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 octillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 nonillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 decillion

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 vigintillion

10¹⁰⁰ better known as a googol from which the search engine google derived its name.

10³⁰³ centillion

And finally for now, a googolplex which is 10^googol

That’s a lot of zeros!

You may have noticed in all this that the names for a lot of the larger numbers end in “illion”. This is also true for the names used to describe numbers that don’t actually exist and that are of no specific size.

For example, words like , ‘jillion’, ‘gadzillion’ and ‘squillion’ (there are many other variations). Their size is dependent upon the context, but can typically be considered a very very large number. And if you are talking about the super rich then all you have to do is stick ‘-illionaire’ on the end.

But the best term for describing a number is one that also doesn’t really exist. I mean it exists as a word, but it is not a precise mathematical term and it just describes a big number rather than a specific big number.

The term I’m talking about is ‘Umpteen’. From the name you would imagine that it should represent a number somewhere in the teens, but it can be used to describe virtually any number, real or imaginary. A useful term if you don’t have a specific number in mind.

Now for the clocks. Here are the links. Hope you find them interesting, maybe a little scary in some cases.

Probably the best of these is from the wonderfully named poodwaddle.com

http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks/worldclock/

Some others to look at too if you are interested in this type of thing

US Debt clock   http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html

World Debt Clock   http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

And some real time world counters on a variety of things

http://www.worldometers.info/

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Funny Factoid Friday Again, And Another Eighteen Universal Truths

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

This funny factoid Friday I have a few more Universal Truths. As before, that does not mean that every one of them applies to everyone, but weirdly most of them do.

And if you are wondering after you read this, the answer is yes, I have put aside a thin piece of wood specifically to stir paint (you’ll see what I mean later!). Oh dear :o(

Enjoy!

1) Some days you see lots of people on crutches.

2) Every bloke has at some stage while taking a pee, flushed half way through and then raced against the flush.

3) Old women with mobile phones look wrong.

4) Its impossible to look cool whilst picking up a Frisbee.

5) Driving through a tunnel makes you feel excited.

6) You never ever run out of salt.

7) Old ladies can eat more than you think.

8) You can't respect a man who carries a dog.

9) There's no panic like the panic you momentarily feel when you've got your hand or head stuck in something.

10) No one knows the origins of their metal coat hangers.

11) Despite constant warning, you have never met anybody who has had their arm broken by a swan.

12) The most painful household incident is wearing socks and stepping on an upturned plug.

13) People who don't drive slam car doors too hard

14) You've turned into your dad the day you put aside a thin piece of wood specifically to stir paint.

15) Everyone had an uncle who tried to steal his or her nose.

16) Bricks are horrible to carry.

17) In every plate of chips there is a bad chip.

18) Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 

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It’s Another Funny Factoid Friday, Here Are Eighteen Universal Truths

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

It’s another Friday and time for a few more of what I call factoids, although this list is entitled Universal Truths.

That does not mean that every one of them applies to everyone, but from personal experience I can vouch for the accuracy of quite a lot of them.

Enjoy!



1) Triangular sandwiches taste better than square ones.



2) At the end of every party there is always a girl crying.



3) One of the most awkward things that can happen in a bar is when your pint-to-toilet cycle gets synchronized with a complete stranger.



4) You've never quite sure whether it's ok to eat green crisps.



5) Everyone who grew up in the 80's has entered the digits 55378008 into a calculator.



6) Reading when you're drunk is horrible.



7) Sharpening a pencil with a knife makes you feel really manly.




8) You're never quite sure whether it's against the law or not to have a fire in your back garden.



10) Nobody ever dares make cup-a-soup in a bowl.



11) You never know where to look when eating a banana.



12) Its impossible to describe the smell of a wet cat.



13) Prodding a fire with a stick makes you feel manly.



14) Rummaging in an overgrown garden will always turn up a bouncy ball.



15) You always feel a bit scared when stroking horses.



16) Everyone always remembers the day a dog ran into your school.



17) The most embarrassing thing you can do as schoolchild is to call your teacher mum or dad.



18) The smaller the monkey the more it looks like it would kill you at the first given opportunity.


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Possibly The Most Rejected Book Manuscript In The World

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Gilbert Young was as aspiring writer, something that will find sympathy with many bloggers and blog readers I’m sure.

But Mr Young has not been the most successful of authors. In the 1970s he wrote a book, World Government Crusade, and last reports indicate that it was rejected by more publishers that any other manuscript. He even wrote to the Soviet Ambassador to see if Russian publishers might be interested. They were not.

He amassed a collection of 205 rejection slips.

It’s all hardly surprising since the subject matter of his book outlined the policies of the ‘World Government and Old Age Pensioners’ Party’ that he had founded in 1958.

But whilst Mr Young’s manuscript may well have been worthy of rejection, sometimes publishers have made serious errors when assessing work submitted to them by aspiring authors. Stupidity is indeed everywhere!

Take a look at these famous examples and the publisher’s comments. It’s a fairly long list, but interesting to see the variety of great writers who started off their careers being rejected. Many of them will surprise you!  

Thank goodness they were persistent enough to carry on. Another good lesson there for aspiring writers today.

Perhaps rather fittingly, whilst the authors and books they criticized have gone on to become household names, the publishers doing the rejecting have long been forgotten.

Enjoy.

“Lady Chatterley's Lover” by D H Lawrence

'for your own sake do not publish this book.'

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“The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame

'an irresponsible holiday story'

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“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding

'an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.'

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“Watership Down” by Richard Adams

'older children wouldn't like it because its language was too difficult.'

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"Valley of the Dolls" by Jacqueline Susann 

Susann's “Valley Of The Dolls” received this response, "...she is a painfully dull, inept, clumsy, undisciplined, rambling and thoroughly amateurish writer whose every sentence, paragraph and scene cries for the hand of a pro. She wastes endless pages on utter trivia, writes wide-eyed romantic scenes ...hauls out every terrible show biz cliché in all the books, lets every good scene fall apart in endless talk and allows her book to ramble aimlessly ..."

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“Crash” by J  G Ballard

‘The author of this book is beyond psychiatric help.'

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"The Torrents of Spring" by Ernest Hemingway

Regarding his novel, "The Torrents of Spring", Ernest Hemingway was rejected with, "It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it."

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"Moby Dick" by Herman Melville

Melville was told, "We regret to say that our united opinion is entirely against the book as we do not think it would be at all suitable for the Juvenile Market in (England). It is very long, rather old-fashioned..."

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William Faulkner

Faulkner may be a classic writer to this, as well as prior, generation, but back when he was trying to crack the publishing market, he had to read letters like this one, "If the book had a plot and structure, we might suggest shortening and revisions, but it is so diffuse that I don't think this would be of any use. My chief objection is that you don't have any story to tell." This was kinder than the rejection he would receive just two years later, "Good God, I can't publish this!"

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“The Deer Park” by Norman Mailer

'This will set publishing back 25 years.'

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“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” by Anita Loos

'Do you realize, young woman, that you're the first American writer ever to poke fun at sex.'

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“The Diary of Anne Frank”

‘The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the “curiosity” level.’ 

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“Lust for Life” by Irving Stone

Stone’s manuscript “Lust For Life” was rejected 16 times, with letters like this, "A long, dull novel about an artist." Eventually he found a publisher and went on to sell about 25 million copies.

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“Barchester Towers” by Anthony Trollope

'The grand defect of the work, I think, as a work of art is the low-mindedness and vulgarity of the chief actors.  There is hardly a lady" or "gentleman" amongst them.'

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“Carrie” by Stephen King

'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias.  They do not sell.'

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“Catch – 22” by Joseph Heller

‘I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say… Apparently the author intends it to be funny – possibly even satire – but it is really not funny on any intellectual level … From your long publishing experience you will know that it is less disastrous to turn down a work of genius than to turn down talented mediocrities.’

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“The Spy who Came in from the Cold” by John le Carré

‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’

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“The War Of The Worlds”  &  “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells

Wells had to endure the indignity of a rejection when he submitted his manuscript, "The War of the Worlds" that said, "An endless nightmare. I do not believe it would "take"...I think the verdict would be 'Oh don't read that horrid book'."

And when he tried to market "The Time Machine," it was said, "It is not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader."

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“Animal Farm” by George Orwell

‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA’

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Edgar Allen Poe

Poe was told, "Readers in this country have a decided and strong preference for works in which a single and connected story occupies the entire volume."

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 “A Wrinkle In Time” by Madeleine L’Engle

L’Engle's “A Wrinkle In Time” was turned down 29 times.

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"Bridge Over River Kwai" by Pierre Boulle 

A rejection letter said, "A very bad book."

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"The Clan of Cave Bear" by Jean Auel

Auel was told, "We are very impressed with the depth and scope of your research and the quality of your prose. Nevertheless ... we don't think we could distribute enough copies to satisfy you or ourselves."

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"Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach

The publisher of a magazine refusing an offer to bid on the paperback rights to Bach's best selling novel said, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull will never make it as a paperback." Avon Books eventually bought those rights and sales totaled more than 7.25 million copies.

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"The Fountainhead" & "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

Before Ayn Rand became known as an intellectual and her books as classics, she too received rejections. Of “The Fountin Head” they said, "It is badly written and the hero is unsympathetic," and, "I wish there were an audience for a book of this kind. But there isn't. It won't sell."

Of “Atlas Shrugged” doing the rounds some fourteen years later, "... the book is much too long. There are too many long speeches... I regret to say that the book is unsaleable and unpublishable."

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“Lady Windermere’s Fan” by Oscar Wilde

‘My dear sir, I have read your manuscript.  Oh, my dear sir.’

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Jorge Luis Borges

'utterly untranslatable'

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Isaac Bashevis Singer

'It's Poland and the rich Jews again.'

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Anais Nin

'There is no commercial advantage in acquiring her, and, in my opinion, no artistic.'

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Dr Seuss

"too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling."

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Beatrix Potter

“The Tale Of Peter Rabbit” was turned down so many times, Potter initially self-published it.

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Rudyard Kipling

Kipling received this from the editor of the San Francisco Examiner, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language."

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"Journey Back to Love" by Mary Higgins Clark

Although mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark more recently has received a $60 plus million dollar advance on her next five books, in the early 1960s when she was sending out her manuscript of "Journey Back to Love" the publishers were not so generous, saying things like, "We found the heroine as boring as her husband did."

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Colette

Classic writer Colette was told in a letter of rejection, "I wouldn't be able to sell 10 copies."

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Emily Dickinson

Only seven of Emily Dickinson's poems were ever published during her lifetime. A rejection early in her career said, "(Your poems) are quite as remarkable for defects as for beauties and are generally devoid of true poetical qualities."

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Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

‘... overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian … the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy.  It often becomes a wild neurotic daydream … I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.’

Do You Know…. Yes, It’s Another Flipping Fun Filled Factoid Friday!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

It’s Friday again and what better day to indulge in a little more factoid fun. Start your weekend off full of useless knowledge that you can impress and bore your friends with.

Enjoy!

Do you know….

That 80 percent of Harvard students graduate with honors

That the chances that a burglary in the US will be solved are 1 in 7

That the government owns one third of all the land in the US

That they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM.  Why?

That James Buchanan was the only US President to remain a bachelor

That the only first lady to carry a loaded revolver was Eleanor Roosevelt

That the only US President to win a Pulitzer was John F. Kennedy, for "Profiles in Courage"

That the only US President to be awarded a patent was Abraham Lincoln, for a system of buoying vessels over shoals

That the US President who discovered a new proof for The Pythagorean Theorem was Jimmy Carter  (I think is was hidden under the oval office carpet)

That cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited there, duh?

What happens if you are in a vehicle going the speed of light and you turn on the headlights?

That honey is the only food that does not spoil

That a Hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards

That Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles or snakes

Why is the word “lisp” spelled with all the letters that people with that affliction cannot pronounce?

That a pig is the only animal besides human that can get sunburn

That ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water

That an eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it

That in the Caribbean there are oysters that can climb trees

That for some strange reason Americans drive on parkways and park on driveways.

That polar bears are left-handed

Why is “dyslexic” such a difficult word to spell?

That when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio

That Eskimos never gamble  -  I bet you didn’t know that.

That the world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910

That the youngest pope was 11 years old

That Mark Twain didn't graduate from elementary school

That proportional to their weight, men are stronger than horses

That when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it's called cargo

That Pilgrims ate popcorn at the first Thanksgiving dinner

What would happen if you tied buttered toast to the back of a cat and dropped it from a height?

That your nose and ears never stop growing

Why isn't “phonetic” spelled the way it sounds?

That Jupiter is bigger than all the other planets combined  -  Uranus!  -  No, Jupiter.

That they have square watermelons in Japan ... they stack better

That Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation

Why your nose runs and your feet smell?

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Statistical Summer Saturday

”Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

A day for fasab factoid fans. 

Here is a selection of statistics and odd facts that I hope you find interesting. 

If she were life-size Barbie's measurements would be 39-23-33

Coca-cola was originally green

The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters

The first novel ever written on a typewriter was "Tom Sawyer"

Why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor in America when you can't drink and drive?

There are more collect calls on Father's Day than any other day of the year

Heinz Catsup leaving the bottle travels at 25 miles PER YEAR

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

Men get hiccups more often than women

Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better

The chances that an American lives within 50 miles of where he/she grew up are 1 in 2.

The amount American Airlines saved in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class was $440,000

The city with the most Rolls Royces per capita is Hong Kong

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work is Alaska

How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?

The chances of a white Christmas in New York are 1 in 4

The portion of US annual rainfall that falls in April is 1/12

28 percent of Africa is wilderness

38 percent of North America is wilderness

An estimated 44 percent of American adults go on a diet each year

43 percent of Americans regularly attend religious services

The city with the highest per capita viewership of TV evangelists is Washington DC

80 percent of American men say they would marry the same woman if they had it to do all over again

50 percent of American women say they would marry the same man

58 percent of men say they are happier after their divorce or separation

85 percent of women say they are happier

Hallmark makes cards for 105 different familial relationships

The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour is 61,000

70 percent of Americans have visited Disneyland or Disney World

The average life span of a major league baseball is 7 pitches

1/3 of all ice cream sold is vanilla

1/3 of potatoes sold are French-fried

7 percent of Americans eat at McDonalds each day

90 percent of bird species are monogamous

3 percent of mammal species are monogamous

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?

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