The following is a graphical illustration of just what one trillion dollars looks like. What does one TRILLION dollars look like? From http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html All this talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"… A billion dollars… A hundred billion dollars… Eight hundred billion dollars… One TRILLION dollars… What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I’d take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like. We’ll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slightly fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go. 
A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun. 
Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it. 
While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet… 
And $1 BILLION dollars… now we’re really getting somewhere… 
Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros. You ready for this? It’s pretty surprising. Go ahead… Scroll down… Ladies and gentlemen… I give you $1 trillion dollars… 
(And notice those pallets are double stacked.) So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"… that’s what they’re talking about. |