PART I - LARGE NUMBERS AND THEIR ARITHMETIC

Summary

Numbers in the World

Today's world is a world of numbers. From morning to midnight men, women, and children are surrounded by numbers of all kinds. Mr. Green wakes up at 7 in the morning. He calls down to his wife that he'd like a 3 minute egg. He reads in the paper at breakfast that Pride's Folly came in 2nd in the Florida Handicap and paid $3.30 and that the temperature went down to -30° in Winnipeg. Mr. Green lets a. number 22 bus go by and catches a number 44 bus into town. At a conference called for 10:00 a.m. his associates agree to put in a bid for $675,000 to carry out a construction job. Out of conference, Mr. Green tells his secretary to get him reservations for the 28th, 29th, and 30th of the month in Chicago. On his way home, he reads that the ABC foundation will spend $25,000,000 next year on school improvement and that the cost of living index rose 2% over what it was a year ago. He recalls that his wife called at 4 and told him to stop at the pastry shop on his way home and buy a dozen rolls and a pound cake. The shop is crowded; he awaits his turn by getting a queue card labelled No. 71. As he opens the door to his house, his daughter tells him that she received an 85 in a spelling test.