The 26' Tall Wall of Debt
This article is for the "numbers people" out
there. Our national debt would make a 26 foot tall wall, around the world
at the equator, of dollar bills (laid end-to-end and stacked flat). As
unbelievable as it sounds, I have decided to prove the numbers.
The equator is 24,902 miles long. With 5,280 feet in a mile, this equals 131,482,560' around the world.
A dollar bill is 6.1" long and .0043" thick. 1.97 dollar bills reach a foot in length. 233 stacked dollar bills are one inch thick.
1.97 (dollar bills) X 131,482,560' (around the world) = $259,020,643 for one lap.
$259,020,643 X 233 (number to equal 1" thick stack) = $60,351,809,120 for a 1" high wall.
$19,000,000,000,000 (U.S. debt on 2/01/16) ÷ $60,351,809,120 = 314.82"
314.82" ÷ 12" = 26.2' (rounded to 26')
Our current U.S. national debt is equal to a wall of stacked dollar bills that would stretch around the world, at the equator, twenty six feet tall!
If you are having trouble wrapping your head around the 26' tall wall, maybe this will help you grasp the enormity of the debt crisis:
1,000,000 (million) seconds = 11.57 days
1,000,000,000 (billion) seconds = 31.71 years
1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) seconds = 31,710 years
The equator is 24,902 miles long. With 5,280 feet in a mile, this equals 131,482,560' around the world.
A dollar bill is 6.1" long and .0043" thick. 1.97 dollar bills reach a foot in length. 233 stacked dollar bills are one inch thick.
1.97 (dollar bills) X 131,482,560' (around the world) = $259,020,643 for one lap.
$259,020,643 X 233 (number to equal 1" thick stack) = $60,351,809,120 for a 1" high wall.
$19,000,000,000,000 (U.S. debt on 2/01/16) ÷ $60,351,809,120 = 314.82"
314.82" ÷ 12" = 26.2' (rounded to 26')
Our current U.S. national debt is equal to a wall of stacked dollar bills that would stretch around the world, at the equator, twenty six feet tall!
If you are having trouble wrapping your head around the 26' tall wall, maybe this will help you grasp the enormity of the debt crisis:
1,000,000 (million) seconds = 11.57 days
1,000,000,000 (billion) seconds = 31.71 years
1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) seconds = 31,710 years
Our debt is 19 trillion dollars.
19,000,000,000,000 seconds = 602,490 years
If our national debt were paid off $1 per second (without any more increases and no interest), it would take 602,490 years. But, instead of paying it off, we have added over $800,000,000,000 to the total since last fall (per the US Treasury web site).
If our national debt were paid off $1 per second (without any more increases and no interest), it would take 602,490 years. But, instead of paying it off, we have added over $800,000,000,000 to the total since last fall (per the US Treasury web site).
Folks, WE have a problem!
