Original photo by kunertus/ iStock
Every single- and double-digit number has something in common that has nothing to do with their mathematical values: When spelled out, none contains the letter “A.” The first number spelled with the first letter of the alphabet is 1,000. Every other vowel appears at least once before “A” makes its long-awaited debut.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factIt formerly contained six alternative letters: eth (ð), thorn (þ), wynn (ƿ), yogh (ȝ), ash (æ), and ethel (œ), all of which predated J, U, and W.
The letter “B,” meanwhile, doesn’t show up until 1 billion, and “C” isn’t used until much later, in 1 octillion (a little-used number featuring a whopping 27 zeros). Funnily enough, less commonly used letters such as “Z” and “X” show up extremely early — in zero and six, respectively — with “X” showing up more than 200 times before “A” shows up once.
Other rarer letters are also seldom used: “J” doesn’t appear in any number, and “Q” doesn’t show up until 1 quadrillion (1 followed by 15 zeros). “E” is the most common letter, showing up in approximately 11% of spelled-out numbers.
Numbers Don't Lie
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The longest word in the English language is “______.”
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The longest word in the English language is “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.”
The most complex word in the English language has three letters.
With a mere three letters but at least 645 different meanings, “run” has been hailed as the most complex word in the English language. Among its many definitions are the obvious — “to go faster than a walk” and “to enter into an election contest” — as well as the comparatively obscure — “to make oneself liable to” and “to produce by or as if by printing (usually used with off).”
Running a fever is very different from running a race, yet both are perfectly cromulent uses of the word. Likewise, some movies enjoy long theatrical runs and favored children have the run of the house. The word has been in use since before the 12th century and can be a verb, noun, or adjective — quite an impressive run for such a simple word.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
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