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From: Michael S <already5chosen@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: "A diagram of C23 basic types"
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2025 21:29:57 +0300
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On Tue, 8 Apr 2025 14:25:52 -0400
James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:

> On 4/8/25 07:20, Michael S wrote:
> > On Tue, 8 Apr 2025 10:54:12 -0000 (UTC)  
> ...
> > The question to which I found no answer by googling is when
> > Americans themselves decided that billion means 1e9.  
> 
> I generally find Wikipedia a more useful source that Google for this
> kind of information.
> 
> The previously referenced Wikipedia article on long scales versus
> short scales asserts that "The short scale was never widespread
> before its general adoption in the United States. It has been taught
> in American schools since the early 1800s"
> 
> It cites " Smith, David Eugene (1953) [first published 1925]. History
> of Mathematics. Vol. II. Courier Dover Publications. p. 81. ISBN
> 978-0-486-20430-7." as the source for that claim.
> 
> It also says "The first American appearance of the short scale value
> of billion as 109 was published in the Greenwood Book of 1729, written
> anonymously by Prof. Isaac Greenwood of Harvard College.", citing the
> same reference. This does not contradict the first statement - it
> might have taken 70 years to become widespread from the first time it
> appeared.
> 
> And finally, it says "In the United States, the short scale has been
> taught in school since the early 19th century. It is therefore used
> exclusively"
> 
> Citing "Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Cambridge University Press.
> Retrieved 21 August 2011." as it's source for that statement.

Thank you. That's a lot earlier than I was imagining.