Start spelling each word as you count, starting with one.

How high do you have to count before you reach a number that has the letter "a" in it?

While many people insist on saying the word 'and' for numbers above one hundred, I have never seen anything saying that it is the correct way to say it for any English dialect. Correct me if I'm wrong, please, but I haven't seen it.

While I was trying to find something to the contrary of what I said before, I found a page with some interesting facts:

Eight is the first number alphabetically. Zero is the last.

Four is the only number that, spelled out, has as many letters.

Forty is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order. One is the only number whose letters are in reverse alphabetical order. First also has its letters in alphabetical order.

Eighty-six, nine letters long, is the longest number that is normally typed using strictly alternating hands (ignoring the hyphen).

Interchangeability is the word in the English language that contains the letters to form the most numbers. Its letters can form the words three, eight, nine, ten, thirteen, thirty, thirty-nine, eighty, eighty-nine, ninety, and ninety-eight.

One thousand is the first number that, when spelled out, contains an a.
One billion is the first number that contains a b.
One octillion is the first number that contains a c.
One hundred is the first number that contains a d.
Zero is the first number that contains an e. Starting from one, it's one.
Four is the first number that contains an f.
Eight is the first number that contains a g.
Three is the first number that contains an h.
Five is the first number that contains an i.
The letters j and k do not appear in the English spelling of any cardinal number.
Eleven is the first number that contains an l.
One million is the first number that contains an m.
One is the first number that contains an n.
Zero is the first number that contains an o. Starting from one, it's one.
One septillion is the first number that contains a p.
One quadrillion is the first number that contains a q.
Zero is the first number that contains an r. Starting from one, it's three.
Six is the first number that contains an s.
Two is the first number that contains a t.
Four is the first number that contains a u.
Five is the first number that contains a v.
Two is the first number that contains a w.
Six is the first number that contains an x.
Twenty is the first number that contains a y.
Zero is the first and only number that contains a z. (One zillion is not a real number.)

Seven is the first number not to contain any letter for the first time.

One octillion, the first number containing a c, is the largest number to contain any letter for the first time.

Posted by DJ on 2003-04-28 10:57:33