By
grumpypilgrim on March 23rd, 2006
A dollar bill is approximately 0.0035″ thick. So, a stack of one billion dollar bills would be 55.24 miles high.
A stack of 224 billion dollar bills (the approximate cost so far of invading Iraq) would be 12,373.76 miles high. That’s halfway around the earth’s equator (the earth’s circumference is 24,900 miles).
A stack of nine trillion dollar bills (the current US debt ceiling) would be 497,159 miles high. That’s twice the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Related posts:
- A billion people can’t all be wrong, can they?
- Photo of Earth and Moon showing proportionate sizes and distance
- Today was Columbus Day?
- Congress Approves $500 Billion For Monument To Human Folly
- Play this “game” to see whether your lifestyle is sustainable.
About the Author
Grumpypilgrim is a writer and management consultant living in Madison, WI. He has several scientific degrees, including a recent master’s degree from MIT. He has also held several professional career positions, none of which has been in a field in which he ever took a university course. Grumps is an avid cyclist and, for many years now, has traveled more annual miles by bicycle than by car…and he wishes more people (for the health of both themselves and our planet) would do the same. Grumps is an enthusiastic advocate of life-long learning, healthy living and political awareness. He is single, and provides a loving home for abused and abandoned bicycles. Grumpy’s email: grumpypilgrim(AT)@gmail(DOT).com [Erich’s note: Grumpy asked that his email be encrypted this way to deter spam. If you want to write to him, drop out the parentheticals in the above address].
