What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

All this talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"...
A billion dollars...
A hundred billion dollars...
Eight hundred billion dollars...
One TRILLION dollars...
What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed
around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I'd take Google Sketchup
<http://sketchup.google.com/> out for a test drive and try to get a sense
of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.

We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S.
denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slighty
fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

$100<http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/bill.jpg>

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and
contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for
week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

$10,000<http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/packet.jpg>

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100
packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around
with it.

$1,000,000 (one milliondollars)<http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/pile.jpg>

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million
is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet...

$100,000,000 (one hundred million dollars)<http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/pallet.jpg>

And $1 BILLION dollars... now we're really getting somewhere...

$1,000,000,000 (one billiondollars)
<http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/pallet_x_10.jpg>

Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've
been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million
million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros.
You ready for this?
It's pretty surprising.
Go ahead...

Scroll down...
Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars...

$1,000,000,000,000 (one trilliondollars)
<http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/pallet_x_10000.jpg>
(And notice those pallets are double stacked.)

So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion
dollars"... that's what they're talking about.]
Email from my dad (thanks)