British Numbers confuse Americans - Numberphile

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  • Опубліковано 30 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 27 тис.

  • @Derpster2493
    @Derpster2493 8 років тому +10738

    000 is pronounced: "James Bond minus seven".

    • @LukeSumIpsePatremTe
      @LukeSumIpsePatremTe 8 років тому +188

      I thought it'd be: "tripleorgasm"

    • @thelennipede9382
      @thelennipede9382 8 років тому +335

      Here in Australia, its called: "you f*cked up mayte, call the ambo!"

    • @christhompson5012
      @christhompson5012 8 років тому +15

      The Lennipede Accurate representation

    • @louisfisher3639
      @louisfisher3639 7 років тому

      Bunker Boy Gaming xmdndn

    • @SpecialEllio
      @SpecialEllio 7 років тому +51

      Archie Kerr you don't know maths do you?

  • @billylardner
    @billylardner 4 роки тому +3940

    Bit late, but as a Brit I can confirm we use ‘triple’ for phone numbers.

    • @totallyrealnotfakelifeadvi7547
      @totallyrealnotfakelifeadvi7547 4 роки тому +15

      Thank you!!!

    • @BuffyTheBuffaloSlayer
      @BuffyTheBuffaloSlayer 4 роки тому +195

      I mainly hear treble rather that triple. Maybe its just a southern England thing

    • @billylardner
      @billylardner 4 роки тому +40

      Lucas Davidoff
      I’m from Surrey and hear “triple” a lot more than “treble” (in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard treble used for a phone number by one of my mates)

    • @new_ale
      @new_ale 4 роки тому +18

      But there's always a hesitation before saying triple.

    • @billygray8863
      @billygray8863 4 роки тому +30

      from Kent. I often hear Treble.

  • @doornob7859
    @doornob7859 5 років тому +5426

    CGP grey with a mouth will haunt my dreams...

  • @sparky4878
    @sparky4878 3 роки тому +899

    I get thrown when someone reads my phone number back to me and they say it in a different pattern I haven’t a clue if it’s right.

    • @julzmusic8708
      @julzmusic8708 3 роки тому +16

      So do I, they’ll read it back in a weird pattern and I’m like ‘yeah that’ll do, no idea’ haha

    • @miff227
      @miff227 3 роки тому +3

      If you're stuck around at home, make new friends on the telephone!
      Oh, eight, nine, eight, double five, double oh, double five..... CHATBACK!!

    • @bobouistic
      @bobouistic 3 роки тому +8

      Like when I say it 881-961 and someone repeats 88-19-61, I am completely thrown off hehehe

    • @KC9UDX
      @KC9UDX 3 роки тому +2

      I have repeating digits in my number. It's fun to say them out of cadence.

    • @miff227
      @miff227 3 роки тому +2

      @@KC9UDX yeah I have 3 doubles at the start of mine, then 4 at the end. When people say "your number ends with the 3 digits ###?" it doesn't sound right at all.

  • @dhaonrisemlan
    @dhaonrisemlan 5 років тому +3179

    000 is said "oh zero nought"... Obviously.

    • @deanmoncaster
      @deanmoncaster 5 років тому +45

      What about none zero nought I say that too

    • @tls5870
      @tls5870 5 років тому +64

      In America it's ought oh zilch

    • @jlaw131985
      @jlaw131985 5 років тому +29

      Zero naught zero sounds like a title of an intrigue or action book

    • @pratherat
      @pratherat 5 років тому +23

      zip nada naught

    • @46wireboy
      @46wireboy 5 років тому +4

      Just...no

  • @cormorantcolors
    @cormorantcolors 5 років тому +2218

    Fully animated and lip-synced CGP Grey is really weird.

    • @bigdingus6052
      @bigdingus6052 5 років тому +139

      it's not even lip synced, its just like 5 different mouth shapes randomly cycling through whenever he's talking

    • @n.itrogen
      @n.itrogen 5 років тому +19

      big dingus it is lip synced, play the speed as slow

    • @nootdraws
      @nootdraws 5 років тому +9

      Wattakron Saisombat nope it still doesn’t work

    • @corventum
      @corventum 5 років тому +2

      agree I

    • @cormorantcolors
      @cormorantcolors 5 років тому +4

      Woah. Just checked back in on this.

  • @EvilParagon2
    @EvilParagon2 6 років тому +3579

    5300?
    Do you mean _Four Thousand Thirteen Hundred?_

  • @abbray
    @abbray 3 роки тому +2520

    All I can imagine now is Americans calling James Bond zero zero seven instead of double 'oh' seven... 😂

    • @mica91700
      @mica91700 3 роки тому +124

      That’s how we say it in French 😅

    • @NaviciaAbbot
      @NaviciaAbbot 3 роки тому +114

      I think in certain cases, regarding literary flow, we use 'double-oh'.

    • @TheWilyx
      @TheWilyx 3 роки тому +40

      @@mica91700 Same in Spanish

    • @LAGxZombified
      @LAGxZombified 3 роки тому +8

      @@mica91700 what are you talking about? W in french literally means double V so you can’t say that using double isn’t part of your vocabulary 😂

    • @akewlen2888
      @akewlen2888 3 роки тому +48

      @@LAGxZombified Mica is saying that 007 is said zero zero seven, in French . It's the same in Swedish and apparently in Spanish too. I guess British english are the odd language here.
      We got the word "double" btw, just don't use it the way brits do.

  • @nekad2000
    @nekad2000 4 роки тому +1892

    I always give my number out in hexadecimal. Nobody has ever called me.

    • @simontingle6739
      @simontingle6739 4 роки тому +36

      Is your number 0000000003 ?

    • @13mudit
      @13mudit 4 роки тому +73

      Do you treat your phone number as a single number in trillions or billions or do you treat it as each separate numbers
      If its the latter then there are other reasons you dont receive a call from anyone

    • @htcmlcrip
      @htcmlcrip 4 роки тому +2

      @@13mudit 🤔🤔 explain?

    • @13mudit
      @13mudit 4 роки тому +37

      @@htcmlcrip i meant that for eg if the number was 123, you could read it as one-two-three or as one hundred and twenty three. In a similar way if phone numbers are read as indivisual digits(which they usually are) then it doesnt matter whether they are in hexadecimal or not

    • @oinkymomo
      @oinkymomo 4 роки тому +5

      F

  • @tequilyps
    @tequilyps 5 років тому +1688

    It's so interesting to hear a native born American speaking with a weirdly half-english accent lol

    • @maplesyrup8297
      @maplesyrup8297 5 років тому +28

      *_tequilyps_*
      I do not hear any accent 🧐

    • @coconutcorejf
      @coconutcorejf 5 років тому +45

      @Spencer Poe That way of speaking is called the Transatlantic accent. If you're curious.

    • @askspencerhill
      @askspencerhill 5 років тому +57

      CGP Grey, in one of his Q&A videos, talks about the tendency of Americans living in England to pick up the weird half-english accent, and says he purposefully avoids falling into that

    • @Zak-ob5ze
      @Zak-ob5ze 5 років тому +26

      They sound very American to me

    • @turtle4llama
      @turtle4llama 5 років тому +7

      @@maplesyrup8297 sharper consonants and atypical American vowels. Specifically O's.

  • @NigelRCharman
    @NigelRCharman 4 роки тому +974

    The odd thing is that we say "zero", "O" and "Nought" in different circumstances. So, "Nought point five", "Zero degrees", "007"

    • @jackjohnson8055
      @jackjohnson8055 4 роки тому +12

      True

    • @estergrant6713
      @estergrant6713 4 роки тому +20

      we also say “o” in american english to say 0. usually when a singular zero exists in a long string of numbers, me personally i know i say “o” depending on context but im not self-aware of the precise “rubric” on when i use “o” instead of zero.

    • @stevenreyna3437
      @stevenreyna3437 3 роки тому +20

      Dont forget about nil!

    • @31ll087
      @31ll087 3 роки тому +36

      I literally say zero and O in the same phone numbers.

    • @iallso1
      @iallso1 3 роки тому +7

      @@estergrant6713 I'm British and have used "o" for zero, but I now have a career in enforcement where it is important to get number plates and vin numbers correct. I now try to avoid doing so, using zero for "0" and Oscar for "o".

  • @colinburton8288
    @colinburton8288 3 роки тому +800

    You do hear 000 as “triple”, however I think 0000 wouldn’t be “quadruple”, but double 0 double 0

    • @ebl36
      @ebl36 3 роки тому +14

      quadruple 0 would probably be slower to say than any other combo...

    • @poppywalker2927
      @poppywalker2927 3 роки тому +17

      Just reminds me of childline. Oh eight hundred double one double one.

    • @toasterfluid5091
      @toasterfluid5091 3 роки тому +15

      I've heard "Quad" rather then "quadruple" (eg 4444 as quad 4) a few times but it's pretty rare.

    • @olliemh2282
      @olliemh2282 3 роки тому +14

      I feel like I say “treble” not “triple”.
      Might be a South-London thing 😂

    • @elijah6169
      @elijah6169 3 роки тому +6

      @@olliemh2282 say treble here too and I live in the east of England

  • @bigjohn606
    @bigjohn606 5 років тому +839

    I never bothered counting seconds... I just pulled the pin and threw the grenade. It's much safer that way.

  • @WilliametcCook
    @WilliametcCook 7 років тому +2661

    I'm not used to seeing CGP Grey with a mouth.

    • @imronmajid3748
      @imronmajid3748 7 років тому +4

      William1234567890123 Cook me too

    • @infinite3365
      @infinite3365 7 років тому

      *took

    • @zoroearc2582
      @zoroearc2582 7 років тому +8

      Or shoulders

    • @ryledra6372
      @ryledra6372 7 років тому +46

      I was more astounded when they took his glasses off and gave him EYES :O

    • @Zetimenvec
      @Zetimenvec 6 років тому +3

      CPC grey moves his hands often, just it's captured at about 1 frame every 2-5 seconds.

  • @bregonz
    @bregonz 4 роки тому +495

    In Italy, when digit X repeats Y times, we say "Y X", so actually "two, three,...", not "double, triple,...".
    Which is absolutely the worst thing to do.
    Like, if I say:
    "two five four one",
    I could independently mean one of the following (it only depends on the tone used while I pronounce the numbers):
    - 2541;
    - 5541;
    - 551111;
    - 2444441;
    - 251111.

    • @martinhawes5647
      @martinhawes5647 4 роки тому +25

      I assume the key is in the timing, probably almost no gap. E.g. a b y-x

    • @dru1432
      @dru1432 4 роки тому +15

      That's insane. :D

    • @bregonz
      @bregonz 4 роки тому +19

      @@martinhawes5647 that's it. Still, sometimes there are misunderstandings.

    • @PROPAROXITONO
      @PROPAROXITONO 4 роки тому +13

      here in Brazil too. we just put the number in plural, but is confusing as well. like "two ones" when is 11

    • @morgiewthelord8648
      @morgiewthelord8648 4 роки тому +3

      Haha that is so funny

  • @sandwich7457
    @sandwich7457 3 роки тому +496

    I’ve never heard anyone say they’re from “downstate NY”

    • @nyahnyahson523
      @nyahnyahson523 3 роки тому +12

      There's a few places where I imagine someone would want to specify they're from "downstate," so tbh it's not even that far fetched.

    • @epistax4
      @epistax4 3 роки тому +10

      I'm thinking around and below Poughkeepsie?

    • @sandwich7457
      @sandwich7457 3 роки тому +3

      @@epistax4 maybe however I did live in Wapp Falls for a little bit and don’t remember ever hearing “downstate”

    • @Jyudee
      @Jyudee 3 роки тому +3

      What the heck is downstate New York? I mean it sorta makes sense, but it sounds so strange.

    • @oriongarnar-wortzel2277
      @oriongarnar-wortzel2277 3 роки тому +3

      Having talked to New Yorkers from around the state the consensus we came to was north of Albany is upstate and south of Albany is down. With areas like Columbia or dutchess county being able to he mid state if they really want

  • @erg0centric
    @erg0centric 5 років тому +1826

    DO NOT GIVE THE BRITISH THE ADDRESS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
    Don't you remember what happened?

  • @susanollington5257
    @susanollington5257 4 роки тому +536

    In Australia we definitely use “triple” for three of the same number

    • @Ryuu798
      @Ryuu798 4 роки тому +19

      000 is our emergency services number. It's important to be able to say it as simply and in as few syllables as possible.

    • @MartinFeatherstone
      @MartinFeatherstone 4 роки тому +48

      One three double oh, six triple fiiiive, oh six.

    • @kushgoblin51020
      @kushgoblin51020 4 роки тому +4

      Here in New Zealand our emergency number is 111 and we call it 'triple one'.

    • @ultrapetey
      @ultrapetey 4 роки тому

      My phone number used to be “double five treble four” 🤣

    • @MartinFeatherstone
      @MartinFeatherstone 4 роки тому +2

      @@kushgoblin51020 that would have been a big time saver back in the rotary phone days 💡

  • @Br0teas
    @Br0teas 8 років тому +3375

    When I am counting seconds,
    I just wait a second before saying the next number.

    • @daithidb
      @daithidb 8 років тому +19

      me too

    • @TheThomson94
      @TheThomson94 8 років тому +9

      +Matthew Brough Is it common in the UK to count seconds with words like piccadilly between the numbers?

    • @Br0teas
      @Br0teas 8 років тому +72

      TheThomson94 no

    • @EnglishChap
      @EnglishChap 8 років тому +2

      +Matthew Brough ayyyy

    • @SwEaTyBaDgErtHiRtEeN
      @SwEaTyBaDgErtHiRtEeN 8 років тому +2

      No

  • @freddyfleal
    @freddyfleal 3 роки тому +1089

    "It's easier to think in amounts of hundreds"
    That's basically what the whole world have been saying about metric system

    • @KC9UDX
      @KC9UDX 3 роки тому +41

      Only people who are accustomed to counting with their fingers and toes.
      Else, 2s, 4s, 8s, 12s, 16s, 32s, 64s, 128s are better.

    • @g4dget
      @g4dget 3 роки тому +102

      @@KC9UDX There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and those that don’t. 😉

    • @g4dget
      @g4dget 3 роки тому +37

      Fifty three hundred? Why not just go the whole hog, and say five hundred and thirty tens?

    • @lividtaffy7411
      @lividtaffy7411 3 роки тому +4

      @@g4dget that's literally what we do minus the tens... 530 is spoken as five hundred and thirty

    • @chipputer
      @chipputer 3 роки тому +8

      @@lividtaffy7411 Though that would actually be 500.30 according to how I was taught math. Our teacher made it a point that 530 is pronounced five hundred thirty with no and.

  • @amirunhaziq8296
    @amirunhaziq8296 5 років тому +1090

    1
    *awkward silence*
    2
    *awkward silence*
    3
    *awkward silence*
    ...
    Edit: *still awkward silence*

    • @jumpingjflash
      @jumpingjflash 5 років тому +43

      Aaawwwwkwaaarrrd silence. A second is always longer than you think.

    • @theofficialdeathmark2202
      @theofficialdeathmark2202 5 років тому +37

      I just do it onnnnnne twooooo threeeeee fooooooour

    • @Wyattporter
      @Wyattporter 5 років тому +11

      It has the right cadence though 🤔

    • @TheDannytaz
      @TheDannytaz 4 роки тому +7

      Glad to know my country isn't the only weird one out.

    • @omninulluser343
      @omninulluser343 4 роки тому +3

      I tried this and timed it with a clock, "awkward silence" is too long. Saying it speedily took me 1.5 seconds per count and saying it normally took me 2 seconds per count.

  • @TheoHiggins
    @TheoHiggins 4 роки тому +319

    I remember as a kid being very confused when Yugioh characters would say "Fifteen hundred life points" instead of "One thousand five hundred life points"

    • @Skwerll
      @Skwerll 4 роки тому +36

      It makes sense in Yu-Gi-Oh since the smallest unit of life points was 100, so speaking in terms of hundreds was sort of natural.

    • @Tuschedz
      @Tuschedz 4 роки тому +29

      It's over ninety hundred!

    • @WolfbloodJakeWilliams
      @WolfbloodJakeWilliams 4 роки тому +8

      Actually, certain cards do deal damage with a 50 on the end, so you might have 50 life points.

    • @Mar_Marine
      @Mar_Marine 4 роки тому +6

      I’d call dealing 50 damage the exception to the rule. Most typically, the game deals with 100 hit point increments.

    • @Brocklebury
      @Brocklebury 4 роки тому +2

      For me it was the fifteen hundred metres in athletics. Eight hundred metres made sense, so I had to think of it as 800 metres scaled up. That's still the way I make sense of it.

  • @ZoggFromBetelgeuse
    @ZoggFromBetelgeuse 4 роки тому +1173

    US: "8-8-4-4"
    UK: "double-8-double-4"
    France: "Hold my beer...4-20-8-40-4"
    (quatre-vingt-huit, quarante-quatre)

    • @snickidy6947
      @snickidy6947 4 роки тому +34

      What... Is this real??

    • @tobinsyoutubechannel2200
      @tobinsyoutubechannel2200 4 роки тому +64

      @@snickidy6947 Yes, it's how you'd say "Eighty eight, forty four," but I think 8844 would just be huit huit quatre quatre. (pronounced sorta like wheat wheat cot cot)

    • @PsychoMuffinSDM
      @PsychoMuffinSDM 4 роки тому +2

      Please explain more! What is going on?

    • @tobinsyoutubechannel2200
      @tobinsyoutubechannel2200 4 роки тому +45

      @@PsychoMuffinSDM Basically in French certain number's names are just combinations of other numbers. For instance, eighteen is dix-huit (or ten-eight). 80 is quatre-vegnt (four-twenty as in four times twenty), and so 88 would be quatre-vegnt-huit, or four-twenty-eight or four times twenty plus eight.

    • @shurjoaunibar
      @shurjoaunibar 4 роки тому +12

      @@tobinsyoutubechannel2200 Well they, for some reason, bunch up the numbers in pairs. Such as 9951 would be quatre-vingts-onze cinquante-un.

  • @CptDangernoodle
    @CptDangernoodle 3 роки тому +301

    And how "0" can be either nil, oh, nought, or zero.. depending on the situation

    • @Stegibbon
      @Stegibbon 3 роки тому +13

      Love

    • @CptDangernoodle
      @CptDangernoodle 3 роки тому +11

      @@Stegibbon oh yeah haha but only in tennis 🎾

    • @Stegibbon
      @Stegibbon 3 роки тому +1

      @@CptDangernoodle yeah more a French thing. Though they do zero and nil too I think.

    • @pimassah3629
      @pimassah3629 3 роки тому +4

      @@00uk919 I hear this being used in maths and sciences.

    • @Orangecatinahoodie
      @Orangecatinahoodie 3 роки тому +10

      @@00uk919 like 0.5, nought point five

  • @danielalles597
    @danielalles597 5 років тому +311

    In Germany we use four-syllable words for each second: Einundzwanzig (21), Zweiundzwanzig (22), Dreiundzwanzig (23) and so on.

    • @HAL-oj4jb
      @HAL-oj4jb 4 роки тому +12

      @Koholos You kind of start counting at 20 (zwanzig). Not sure if that's connected, but I always count things in multiples of twenty too, you start by 20, count to 39, and then start again at 20 and count the times you cycled through

    • @chrislth
      @chrislth 4 роки тому +12

      @Koholos its actually very accurate to a second if you say it normally

    • @nevednavnaj
      @nevednavnaj 4 роки тому +20

      Same in Dutch (één-en-twin-tig, twee-en-twin-tig, drie-en-twin-tig). To me this feels a lot more natural than Mississippi or Piccadilly because the four syllables give a nice four-beats-in-a-bar rhythm

    • @fusion_gemer1657
      @fusion_gemer1657 4 роки тому +4

      It's another compound. It's not a unique word, it translates to '1 and 20, 2 and 20'

    • @teecana3977
      @teecana3977 4 роки тому +8

      I am German and I just start at one and try to count very slowly. I isn't accurate but I never even heard of another way of counting

  • @tashazalinski5250
    @tashazalinski5250 3 роки тому +522

    As a British kid I always thought it was “1 Mrs Sippy, 2 Mrs Sippy” lol

    • @hacefrio1695
      @hacefrio1695 3 роки тому +22

      You’re probably not just thinking that! I can clearly remember my teachers writing that out in primary school so maybe it’s uncommon but not unheard of.

    • @tashazalinski5250
      @tashazalinski5250 3 роки тому +21

      @@hacefrio1695 ah! Maybe a country wide mishearing then!

    • @BobBob-oe9uf
      @BobBob-oe9uf 3 роки тому +11

      For counting it doesn't matter i guess. Go mrs Sippy!

    • @ebl36
      @ebl36 3 роки тому +8

      Woah! It’s ‘Mrs Sippy’? I thought it was ‘1 Mississippi’

    • @tashazalinski5250
      @tashazalinski5250 3 роки тому +14

      @@ebl36 it is! I was just 4 year old from Oxford who’d never heard of Mississippi!

  • @PHE4_
    @PHE4_ 5 років тому +1586

    I’m English and I would say triple zero

    • @alxmnslv
      @alxmnslv 5 років тому +41

      I am not english and I approve this message

    • @CulturePhilter
      @CulturePhilter 5 років тому +13

      Yeah, me too.

    • @unknownfury7672
      @unknownfury7672 5 років тому +6

      Sophia Martinez same

    • @FluffysMum
      @FluffysMum 5 років тому +67

      Or treble zero

    • @sorayaimperial
      @sorayaimperial 5 років тому +39

      I'm not english, but I was taught british english in school and I'd say triple oh. I was taught to say oh instead of zero outside of mathematics. Like double oh seven for james bond.

  • @ManMang0
    @ManMang0 3 роки тому +147

    Funny thing is about ''british ways'' are that it varies a crazy amount from one place to another. Some things are accurate but others are widely incorrect for a massive % of Brits.

    • @smilehuman8952
      @smilehuman8952 3 роки тому +10

      If you go like 2 towns from where you live they'll probably have a different accent in England anyway

    • @Ceratops17
      @Ceratops17 3 роки тому

      @Harry Butler another thing is probably having tea. In some parts you get a cup of tea in others a full meal

    • @GiraffeFlavored
      @GiraffeFlavored 3 роки тому +2

      Even moreso that for the US, it's a MASSIVE country with each state being almost akin to it's own country in terms of culture, language, nationality makeup, history, just everything. I'm sure even things mentioned in this video aren't true everywhere here, let along any other generalization. Even breaking things up into general categories of "The West, The Midwest, The South, and The East" doesn't always work.

    • @anthonytorres-cruz1598
      @anthonytorres-cruz1598 3 роки тому +2

      It's the same way for American number systems. 2 massive generalizations.

    • @mikec4390
      @mikec4390 2 роки тому +1

      And not just with numbers but with pretty much everything. They intentionally make things more complicated than they need to be and sometimes will change "their way" just for the sake of doing it differently from America. For example, "soccer" as a term originated in the UK. I couldn't tell you what logic they gave upon switching to calling it football but it's ridiculous that they criticize Americans for calling it by the term the UK came up with in the first place.

  • @bentech1
    @bentech1 5 років тому +163

    22 = double two
    222 = triple 2
    2222 = double two double two
    If you have 4 you might follow it up with:
    Double two double two, that’s four twos
    -edit source I work at a company that has the number 226666 and my mum’s company was 718882

    • @fsxbestpilot
      @fsxbestpilot 5 років тому +11

      why not double double two? :-P

    • @jumpingjflash
      @jumpingjflash 5 років тому +8

      22222 = double two two double two

    • @freznox6
      @freznox6 5 років тому +6

      I say "Friple Two". Am I wrong?

    • @GonzoTehGreat
      @GonzoTehGreat 4 роки тому +1

      @@jumpingjflash actually this would be triple double 2
      Just kidding... while it's logical most would instead say double 2, double 2 double 2

    • @dougaltolan3017
      @dougaltolan3017 4 роки тому +1

      hello, is that 5 double five five?
      No, this is double 5 double 5.

  • @philipmorse-fortier5499
    @philipmorse-fortier5499 5 років тому +242

    I think the most likely reason Americans will say 53 hundred has to do with street numbers as mentioned later. If you're between 53rd and 54th, you're in the 53 hundred block. Calling it the 5 thousand 3 hundred block would make it more confusing, and since so many of our cities are laid on on grids like that, I rather suspect that is influential.

    • @AugustinSteven
      @AugustinSteven 5 років тому +7

      The $100 bill thing seems the more likely reason to me.

    • @audigex
      @audigex 5 років тому +2

      But why call it the 5300 block at all? Just call it the 53 block, you don’t need the hundred

    • @neilwilliams2907
      @neilwilliams2907 5 років тому +1

      And why do they say 'two thousand one' for dates and not 'twenty hundred one' as with the 5300 example?

    • @amileegirl
      @amileegirl 5 років тому +4

      I think it is more to do with currency vs patterns. For money you would say 5 thousand 3 hundred because it is a full count. For the year it is about clarity...so two thousand one Etc until double digits...then use a 2x2 pattern "twenty ten" about half the time and "two thousand ten" the other. Phone numbers in patterns unique to the number because patterns are easier to remember: fivefivefive twothree sixthree. Or. 5 5 5 twelve ten. Same for credit cards and addresses...patterns. if it is a zip code, phone number, area code,or address, some areas say "oh" instead of zero. An American might say 12 hundred dollars. But would almost never say 1 thousand 2 hundred for an address. They would say. 4 oh 4 or 4 zero 4. For an address more often than 4 hundred 4
      I don't know about other countries, but I have refused to take a new phone number that didn't have a nice pattern or rhythm!

    • @kaneminik
      @kaneminik 5 років тому +3

      ​@@AugustinStevenIn Denmark (DKK valued about 1/6 of the dollar) we use 100 kroner bills in almost every transaction and it's not rare to see 1000 kroner bills. We will say 19 hundred, 2 thousand, 2 thousand 1 hundred...
      When you get to a high number, saying xx-hundred no longer helps you visualize the amount. And most people around me, including my self, swap at 2k

  • @Uranium_Enjoyer
    @Uranium_Enjoyer 4 роки тому +278

    8:52 Seeing CGP Grey without his glasses is just... just scary...

    • @EldenringLeaks
      @EldenringLeaks 4 роки тому +8

      Cursed imagery

    • @alexbren1726
      @alexbren1726 4 роки тому +2

      Tf just happened

    • @jliscorpio
      @jliscorpio 3 місяці тому

      He has beautiful eyes. Maybe try contacts going forward?

  • @lucas46g
    @lucas46g 3 роки тому +63

    Why is this in everyone’s recommended years later

    • @TheRandomSpectator
      @TheRandomSpectator 3 роки тому +1

      I'm just now seeing your comment and realizing this was posted in 2013. Yeah this popped up in my recommendeds too.

    • @CoffeeSipper555
      @CoffeeSipper555 3 роки тому +1

      Yeah right? Especially for someone like me who watched it when it was first published too.

    • @saurabhshrestha4174
      @saurabhshrestha4174 3 роки тому

      Idk how I end up here

  • @adamhedley8924
    @adamhedley8924 4 роки тому +649

    000.
    "Do i say triple zero?".
    "Do i say zero, double zero?".
    "Do i say double zero, zero?".
    "Do i say zero, zero, zero?".
    Me: "Yes".

    • @Dorgpoop
      @Dorgpoop 4 роки тому +27

      You don't say any of that people usually say "oh" like the letter instead of zero like double-oh seven

    • @PastyMancer
      @PastyMancer 4 роки тому +3

      I usually go oh, double oh. It's probably due to a personal preference.

    • @skakdosmer
      @skakdosmer 4 роки тому +6

      In my country I’d say “nul nul nul”, but in England I might say double oh zero, just for fun.

    • @amfandrade
      @amfandrade 4 роки тому +3

      You don’t even say zero, normally its said oh

    • @9peppe
      @9peppe 4 роки тому +1

      @@skakdosmer double oh zero sounds like the secret agent 7 times before 007.

  • @CutcliffePaul
    @CutcliffePaul 4 роки тому +596

    I'm British and I'm happy to help with your credit card number - could you give me the full long number, and also the code on the back too, just to make sure I get it right... 😉

    • @tessc-b1886
      @tessc-b1886 4 роки тому +33

      Don't forget the expiry date!

    • @chebic5095
      @chebic5095 4 роки тому +30

      Sweet man here’s mine so it goes
      1234567891012
      And then that lil code yah
      131
      Thanks in advance.

    • @urielantoniobarcelosavenda780
      @urielantoniobarcelosavenda780 4 роки тому +23

      @@chebic5095 the scary part is that eventuañy that gonna be a real credit card number

    • @HayleyAnjuna
      @HayleyAnjuna 4 роки тому +8

      @@urielantoniobarcelosavenda780 no because credit card numbers either start with a 4 or a 5

    • @urielantoniobarcelosavenda780
      @urielantoniobarcelosavenda780 4 роки тому +8

      @@HayleyAnjuna eventually there will be soooooooo many humans that a credit card will need to start with 1

  • @chrisboyd3540
    @chrisboyd3540 3 роки тому +194

    I'm not sure if anyone's commented the same, but for me, I can definitely remember using the word "hippopotamus" as a counting word

    • @The_Chew
      @The_Chew 3 роки тому +8

      I go:
      One and a two and a three and a four and a five and a six and a seven and an eight and a nine and a ten and an eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen...

    • @Druzhh
      @Druzhh 3 роки тому

      ?????????????????

    • @Druzhh
      @Druzhh 3 роки тому +3

      I just say 1 2 3 4 5

    • @joeevans7069
      @joeevans7069 3 роки тому +2

      It seems people enjoy having the spacing be a 4 syllable word. Mississippi and piccadilly both having 4 syllables.

    • @mcmonkey26
      @mcmonkey26 3 роки тому +3

      @@Druzhh imagine someone counting out loud “one, hippopotamus, two, hippopotamus, three, hippopotamus”

  • @GhostGamer2410
    @GhostGamer2410 3 роки тому +122

    "I don't think hundred pound notes exist" They do but not in England, they are definitely given in Scotland due to slight separation of currency even though its still legal tender in England.

    • @eleanormason2647
      @eleanormason2647 3 роки тому +9

      It might be legal tender but many shops/ pubs refuse them as it's quite common for them to be forgeries when in England (unless it literally comes from a Scottish tourist). That's what my manager told me when I was told not to take Scottish notes when working the bar

    • @jaackaboytheiii1107
      @jaackaboytheiii1107 3 роки тому +2

      @The Climbing Channel many shops have the right to refuse them, and they do

    • @GhostGamer2410
      @GhostGamer2410 3 роки тому +6

      @@eleanormason2647 Yea, the north is more accepting of it whereas the south pretty much doesn't accept it. i work as a cashier getting a 50 is pain as it i so people if you get a 50 please break it down at a bank

    • @eleanormason2647
      @eleanormason2647 3 роки тому +3

      @@GhostGamer2410 yeah, fifty pound notes or Scottish notes generally aren't accepted and I think that's due to the fraud risk. All fifties get the pen test

    • @graemehunter4395
      @graemehunter4395 3 роки тому +1

      I've never seen a £100 Scottish note, and I was born here.

  • @dcan911
    @dcan911 3 роки тому +489

    You may say triple zero, but more likely 'treble oh'' for me.

    • @andrewharris3900
      @andrewharris3900 3 роки тому +2

      Yeah in Australia we also say “treble oh”

    • @Coastal_Cruzer
      @Coastal_Cruzer 3 роки тому +16

      As a bassist I find myself saying "treble oh" very often, though in a very different context most of the time

    • @SEFSQklOR0VS
      @SEFSQklOR0VS 3 роки тому +1

      Definitely treble oh

    • @danthe1st
      @danthe1st 3 роки тому +3

      Oh no

    • @Bart-tk9um
      @Bart-tk9um 3 роки тому +2

      more often than not im reading two numbers at a time so i dont pay attention to the third zero, so i say “double zero, zero” then think “oh look could of said treble”

  • @dion789
    @dion789 8 років тому +153

    You should learn Dutch, that is even more confusing. For instance, instead of eighty-five, we say five-and-eighty. So you always have to wait for the second number to be spoken before you can write it down.

    • @alexandergifford
      @alexandergifford 8 років тому +16

      I'm learning German and they do this too and it is incredibly frustrating.

    • @cigmorfil4101
      @cigmorfil4101 8 років тому +8

      bibliofanatic You never learnt/heard the nursery rhyme:
      Sing a song of 6d
      a pocket full of rye
      four and twenty blackbirds
      baked in a pie?
      English used to use the German way of vier und zwanzig.

    • @alexandergifford
      @alexandergifford 8 років тому

      Cigmorfil English also used to have Dative case, doesn't mean it's not frustrating to learn because we don't use it anymore.

    • @cigmorfil4101
      @cigmorfil4101 8 років тому +2

      Instead of being an infective language with changing endings English uses prepositions to indicate the case before the noun (of, to or for, by with or from) - English tells you what's going to happen and then gives the noun whereas inflective languages give you the noun and then what's going to happen; this is why a preposition is a word you never end a sentence with.
      Due to lack of endings English is more strict over word order, and doesn't (generally) require adjective matching.

    • @covovker
      @covovker 8 років тому +17

      I don't think anything beats French word for 90 that is literally "four twenties and ten".

  • @thierrypauwels
    @thierrypauwels 6 років тому +590

    Imagine then what it means for a Belgian saying "seventy-three" for 73, to go to France and having to get used to saying "sixty-thirteen".

    • @HunterShows
      @HunterShows 6 років тому +48

      That's hilarious. I have enough trouble with the inverted syntax in German.

    • @BrendanBeckett
      @BrendanBeckett 6 років тому +79

      Let alone 93 being "four-twenty thirteen". Unless that's changed since I did French in grade school.

    • @michagrill9432
      @michagrill9432 6 років тому +6

      HunterShows Yeah... I ask myself why we germans do that... it's just weird and I have to think twice on english numbers as well XD

    • @michagrill9432
      @michagrill9432 6 років тому +9

      What's also SUPER confusing and makes me struggle every time is the weird thing in germany with big numbers... In germany we say Million , Milliarden where in english you say million, billion wich means where im in german at Trillion you in english are already at quintillion... >.

    • @Smoo1977
      @Smoo1977 6 років тому +14

      But it's not only German that does it that way round (let's just start a revolution and say "zwanzigundeins" from now on!), it's also the Dutch "eenentwintig", and the Danish "enogtyve" (found the same for Norwegian, but only in one place, the others all list "tjueen" only). And for Latin I found "viginti unus" as well as "unus et viginti".

  • @emj7336
    @emj7336 3 роки тому +25

    Oh, and the "one" thing, is from the association of the "terrace end", or "corner plot" on a road being the larger, more expensive, big building. One would usually also be on the end closer to town centre, making it more appealing to some, especially on long roads, with most people walking a lot of places in the UK. The other thing with that "one tower bridge", I don't know if it's always this, but you can name a building anything, but you can't change the number. So "One Tower Bridge" might actually be a different building from the number 1 on the road it resides, distinguished by spelling the word out, and to get the luxury association.

  • @alannacarlson6715
    @alannacarlson6715 7 років тому +640

    That thirteen years in England is starting to affect her accent

  • @ukko9154
    @ukko9154 6 років тому +480

    I wouldn't say that's very confusing. How about numbers in French?
    70=sixty-ten
    71=sixty-eleven
    72=sixty-twelve
    ...
    80=four-twenty (4*20=80)
    81=four-twenty-and-one
    82=four-twenty-two
    ...
    90=four-twenty-ten (4*20+10=90)
    91=four-twenty-eleven
    92=four-twenty-twelve
    ...
    99=four-twenty-ten-nine (because nineteen is basically ten-nine)
    Phone numbers and other sequences are always grouped into two number sections:
    7398175017
    Seventy-three ninety-eight seventeen fifty seventeen
    I was very confused while studying these...

    • @charlieodom9107
      @charlieodom9107 6 років тому +12

      I shouldn't have to use a calculator to read a damn number! If the phone is broken up into pairs, then wouldn't you use the same method on a phone number? 1234567 would be ten two, twenty ten 4, etc?
      It would take those twats an hour to give out a phone number!

    • @ieuanpugh-jones5284
      @ieuanpugh-jones5284 6 років тому +4

      Ugain
      Deugain
      Unarugain-21
      Un ar bymtheg ar ugain- 1on fifteen on on tweny-36
      Deu ugain-2 twenties
      And so on in Welsh
      Having said that English uses dozen and score for 12 and 20

    • @DiarmuidHenry
      @DiarmuidHenry 6 років тому +20

      The Danish number system is even more ridiculous.
      For example, the word for 55 is 'femoghalvtreds', which is a shorter form of the older 'femoghalvtredsindstyve'. This literally translates as 'five-and-half- third-times-twenty'. 'Half-third' as in half of the third nummer (3), so the word for 1.5 is 'halvanden' = 'half-second'.
      Phone and credit card numbers are always paired in Danish as well:
      58670812
      Fifty eight, sixty seven, zero eight, twelve.

    • @SmokyTiger101
      @SmokyTiger101 6 років тому +9

      Ukko Hertell you’re wrong, it’s not four-twenty-one, it’s four-twenty-and-one. The french put an “and” before every “one” in a 2 digit number

    • @ukko9154
      @ukko9154 6 років тому +4

      @@SmokyTiger101 It was a mistake I made! Thanks!

  • @loucooper2870
    @loucooper2870 8 років тому +313

    This is embarrassing, but I always thought it was 'One Mrs Zippy'. :(

    • @weathercontrol0
      @weathercontrol0 7 років тому +13

      Louis Cooper lol

    • @amapparatistkwabena
      @amapparatistkwabena 7 років тому +6

      Bwahahaha!!!! Omg, I think I just disturbed my neighbors! 😂

    • @geema2281
      @geema2281 7 років тому +14

      Louis Cooper omg that is so cute! one Mrs zippy! are you American?

    • @loucooper2870
      @loucooper2870 7 років тому +24

      Giselle Martinez Nope, I'm British. Probably explains it...

    • @GegoXaren
      @GegoXaren 7 років тому

      "One Mistress Zippy"?

  • @kaybrann
    @kaybrann 3 роки тому +73

    I see the algorithm has recommended this video again in 2021

  • @Zaxophone32
    @Zaxophone32 5 років тому +104

    I was fine up until Grey took off his glasses. I'm so used to seeing him with them on it's jarring to see him without them.

  • @sumdumbmick
    @sumdumbmick 5 років тому +404

    112 = eleventy-two
    1112 = eleventy-twelve
    74 = sixty-fourteen
    6014 = fifty-seven-hundred plus pi-hundred
    14 days = fortnight
    10 days = tenight

    • @whatisthis2809
      @whatisthis2809 5 років тому +42

      fortnight

    • @darenbrett7366
      @darenbrett7366 5 років тому +24

      Dont forget the clocks,
      five and twenty to six = 5:35
      Five and ten past four = 4:15

    • @purple.cube.
      @purple.cube. 5 років тому +2

      Huh

    • @francisariwaodo318
      @francisariwaodo318 5 років тому +26

      Seventy-fourteen is very similar to the what the french do

    • @mdboer
      @mdboer 5 років тому +4

      @@francisariwaodo318 double forty seventeen?

  • @SilverWave64
    @SilverWave64 10 років тому +380

    Why does America refuse to use the metric system?

    • @andresvelasco2748
      @andresvelasco2748 9 років тому +53

      If the US switches to the metric system, the terrorists win.

    • @mitchharper4461
      @mitchharper4461 9 років тому +3

      Because we prefer the system that we use. We don't have to know the metric system so why learn it.

    • @EarlofCrawford
      @EarlofCrawford 9 років тому +5

      Tim Satterwhite It's easier than you think and has been done successfully time and time again

    • @yolodench
      @yolodench 9 років тому +3

      Andres Velasco the US are the terrorists in case you didn't know

    • @canyonlynn9744
      @canyonlynn9744 9 років тому +4

      Tradition,and price of changing all the signs and other stuff like that.

  • @sargfowler9603
    @sargfowler9603 3 роки тому +450

    Ah, you didn't even mention dates! The bain of every computer literate person where software/websites insist on using the American date system. Does my head in.

    • @mattlock256
      @mattlock256 3 роки тому +15

      That's because if you go year/month/day when you sort files by date they all end up in order of when they occurred, from the start of the year to the end of the year. If you sorted everything by year/day/month files would get jumbled around and something saved on the 1st of January would be followed by the 1st of February, 1st if March, etc. The English way is actually a pretty poor way to go about dates

    • @bluesz1bluesz17
      @bluesz1bluesz17 3 роки тому +11

      @@mattlock256 computers are new dates are old

    • @mattlock256
      @mattlock256 3 роки тому +8

      @@bluesz1bluesz17 yeah but I was explaining why software/websites use the American way over others

    • @ser55555
      @ser55555 3 роки тому +86

      But isn't the American way month/day/year? Cause that's screwed up. In that sense, the British way (day/month/year) makes more sense to me. But the best is indeed year/month/day, especially for files in a computer.

    • @bluesz1bluesz17
      @bluesz1bluesz17 3 роки тому +2

      @@mattlock256 computers do that in general there always set to US English when you buy them

  • @davekirwin
    @davekirwin 6 років тому +578

    No modern UK £100 note exists, the largest is £50 but are not in regular use. Scottish £100 does exist though.
    I say triple and double.
    Houses are numbered ‘odd’ on one side of the street and ‘even’ on the other.

    • @AdzSONLINE
      @AdzSONLINE 6 років тому +20

      @@trondordoesstuff Problem is it depends on the town, and history.
      So there are some streets where the numbers go 1,2,3 all the way to the end and come back, so 1 is opposite 97 or something.
      Then there are the normal 1,3,5 opposite 2,4,6, Theme there's what you were saying with 1,3,5 opposite 96,94,92.
      Then if you have cul-de-sacs the street can go from 30 to 50 because 32-48 are in the cul-de-sac.
      There's no consistency and it can get very confusing sometimes.
      Then of course you also have some bits where they've added new houses into a street, so those start at 1 again and have a different "street" name (i.e Numberphile Street would have a new bit added called Numberphile Walk, or even something totally unrelated) but it's on the same street next to the houses that already existed.
      Can get extremely confusing

    • @Puffmac1
      @Puffmac1 6 років тому +27

      The Scottish £100 note is still a UK note. There's no Bank of England notes is what you mean...

    • @octubre_lilaka
      @octubre_lilaka 6 років тому

      Yeah houses work like that in America too.

    • @guyat8007
      @guyat8007 6 років тому +2

      For the 2% who sees this, I hope you have a amazing future!!
      *I'm subbing to who likes my video and subs to me!* 😎😎😎
      THANKS😴😯😌😯😶😥

    • @mariokart6309
      @mariokart6309 6 років тому +3

      @@Thoupantaloons yes but 2000 rupees is only ~£20
      What is your point

  • @mattwoodphd
    @mattwoodphd 5 років тому +174

    3,5,7,9 with 50,48,46 on the other side is not that common. Usually it's 3,5,7,9 and 2,4,6,8 opposite. Then sometimes it's just 1,2,3,4 for no apparent reason.

    • @swanclipper
      @swanclipper 5 років тому +11

      i've found it reliable throughout my life to assume low numbers of one set (odds) means on the other side of the road is the higher numbers of another set (evens).
      if you're at 3, then you can bet that the other side says 78. the only time i've noticed the numbers climbing up on both sides is on closed streets which don't loop or connect to another road. if it does connect i've noticed it goes up one way and down the opposite. much more efficient for postmen too.

    • @jackstaff2998
      @jackstaff2998 5 років тому +5

      Yeah that’s was I usually observe like my house is 22 and the other side is 23 whereas next door is 24

    • @maximusfattybum
      @maximusfattybum 5 років тому +2

      The reason is because we have historic buildings in the UK. You could have a row of small terraced houses on one side of a road some larger shops or house with bigger grounds on the other therefore the variance can be way out. As new buildings replace others they sometimes need to add a and b on to the numbers to stay
      In the existing sequence on a road. Saying that many new builds dont have number 13, as it can be considered bad luck.

    • @leeramsden3095
      @leeramsden3095 5 років тому

      Yeah feel this must a be London thing. And ever wondered why 1 is that that end and not the other? I believe they start from the town hall end. Which kinda makes sense as they expand

    • @maximusfattybum
      @maximusfattybum 5 років тому +1

      @@leeramsden3095 No 1 usually would start in the town or cities and as urban growth spread out, the numbers increase. There is another common thing that happens in the uk. There would be one main road between two towns or cities. So where i live it runs from Manchester to Oldham. As the road leaves Manchester it is called Oldham Road, then at around half way the name changes to Manchester road which goes into Oldham.

  • @coniow
    @coniow 7 років тому +204

    I believe it was Winston Churchill who said we are two countries separated by a common language :-).

    • @Milesco
      @Milesco 6 років тому +3

      It was George Bernard Shaw who said that.

    • @vladescu3g
      @vladescu3g 6 років тому

      wow quoting Churchill... whats next Hitler?

    • @99loki
      @99loki 6 років тому +1

      Far too clever to have been from Churchill.

    • @pyeltd.5457
      @pyeltd.5457 6 років тому +1

      99loki Trump said it with help from Putin.

    • @TheLifeOfDan1
      @TheLifeOfDan1 6 років тому

      ‘Separated’ by one language!? What’s that meant to mean!? 🤔

  • @jona028i
    @jona028i 3 роки тому +59

    In Denmark we say "en kasse øl" which translates to "one beer box"

    • @ebl36
      @ebl36 3 роки тому +1

      I love this!

    • @splosh2070
      @splosh2070 3 роки тому +1

      I wouldn't mind a beer box

    • @babyjesus9011
      @babyjesus9011 3 роки тому +1

      Such a Danish thing to say

    • @Martin-re8ei
      @Martin-re8ei 3 роки тому

      Och en cigg 😁

    • @AaronOfMpls
      @AaronOfMpls 2 місяці тому

      Or to use more cognates, "one case of ale"?
      (Not a Danish speaker, so just guessing.)

  • @MlCHAELHlCKOXFilms
    @MlCHAELHlCKOXFilms 9 років тому +1230

    How about the whole "Oh" vs. "Zero" thing? Does everyone use them interchangeably... or are certain areas confused by this? My favorite is abbreviating the years. Whether you say "zero" or "Oh," everyone will say "two thousand (and) nine" and then abbreviate to "oh nine."

    • @BoomerangPlays
      @BoomerangPlays 9 років тому +29

      Omg you watch numberplile?

    • @xXx-un3ie
      @xXx-un3ie 9 років тому +24

      MICHAELHICKOXFilms much more what about "zero" vs "not"

    • @philip013
      @philip013 9 років тому +96

      Elias Kechter Nought?

    • @xXx-un3ie
      @xXx-un3ie 9 років тому +30

      philip013 oh thats what they say ok yeah thats what i meant
      sry im from germany and native russian so I didnt know exactly

    • @joshv9532
      @joshv9532 9 років тому +4

      MICHAELHICKOXFilms oh my goodness i cant believe you watch numberphile. you are awesome.

  • @Parsnip0the0pig
    @Parsnip0the0pig 11 років тому +70

    The title of this clip is misleading. This isn't about how numbers confuse Americans; more accurately, it shows how British numbering systems differ from American numbering systems.

  • @Miranox2
    @Miranox2 10 років тому +48

    There is nothing confusing about saying 53 hundred. If you don't like it that's fine but don't try to justify it with bullshit like "it's less precise".

  • @bluesz1bluesz17
    @bluesz1bluesz17 3 роки тому +56

    in the UK the odd door numbers are on one side and even on the other, sometimes if there's flats down one side and not the other this can mess with the numbers

    • @novatheenby8779
      @novatheenby8779 3 роки тому +6

      It's that way in America too, if you're driving down a street one side has odd houses and the other has evens

    • @bluesz1bluesz17
      @bluesz1bluesz17 3 роки тому +2

      ​@@novatheenby8779 is it just me or does the term numberphile sound like someone who touches number's in their special place

    • @me19276
      @me19276 3 роки тому

      not in a cul-de-sac though :)

  • @GothicKin
    @GothicKin 10 років тому +381

    In Italy we count seconds like this "1 mandolino 2 mandolino 3 maccheroni 4 mandolino 5 mandolino 6 maccheroni 7 mandolino..." and so on.
    And, you guessed it, we do think in base 3. In fact our clocks have 3 hours on them. Also we cut pizza with spoons and we sleep standing up.

    • @joealias2594
      @joealias2594 10 років тому +56

      lol i don't understand this comment but its funny

    • @babydaddy6562
      @babydaddy6562 10 років тому

      Joe Alias mm
      Mnbbhn
      💯💮💮

    • @GothicKin
      @GothicKin 10 років тому +2

      Baby Daddy yes indeed
      Mamma mia

    • @64imma
      @64imma 10 років тому

      What do those words mean in Italian?

    • @GothicKin
      @GothicKin 10 років тому +6

      64imma I chose the most generic stereotypical words, how could you not know them? I mean, in media italians are depicted like mandolin crafter who eat maccheroni all day long.

  • @BillyViBritannia
    @BillyViBritannia 5 років тому +639

    one,
    otorhinolaryngologist,
    two,
    otorhinolaryngologist...
    that's how I count minutes.

  • @Raymond-yj2vp
    @Raymond-yj2vp 3 роки тому +95

    I live in Scotland. I've always used 'elephant'. I've heard 'mississippi' used and it does seem more rhythmical in practice. Maybe that's why I'm always late.

    • @darryljohnbuntingstewart3555
      @darryljohnbuntingstewart3555 3 роки тому +2

      I'm fae Scotland anaw, I've always used Hippopotamus to space my numbers.

    • @BobBob-oe9uf
      @BobBob-oe9uf 3 роки тому +2

      You should be early then. Elephant rolls of the tongue more easily.

    • @voodoolilium
      @voodoolilium 3 роки тому +1

      I also sometimes use alligator, but I think Mississippi rolls off the tongue better

    • @thomascooper6658
      @thomascooper6658 2 роки тому +2

      I’m from North Yorkshire and I’ve always used elephant as well. Never heard of Piccadilly being used before though. Maybe it’s a southern thing.

    • @rachelcookie321
      @rachelcookie321 2 роки тому +1

      I’m from Scotland but moved to New Zealand when I was 7. In Scotland I was just taught to say the word second but slowly. When I moved to New Zealand I heard people using Mississippi but I thought they said “miss a sippy” lol. I always preferred to just say ‘second’ because once you get into double digits ‘Mississippi’ is too slow.

  • @teeweezeven
    @teeweezeven 3 роки тому +10

    Going back on this channel really makes me realize how big the focus on numbers was instead of mathematics!

  • @PhillipParr
    @PhillipParr 7 років тому +419

    House numbers in England are actually 1 3 5 7 on one side and 2 4 6 8 on the other in the correct order UNLESS you're in some very specific parts of central London. I guess that's the problem you fall into when your only context of an entire country is one tiny part of it.

    • @_J_P
      @_J_P 7 років тому +32

      Phillip Parr I think it's pretty common in rest of Europe as well.

    • @omnipossum92
      @omnipossum92 7 років тому +15

      Phillip Parr Same in Australia

    • @fishdude96
      @fishdude96 7 років тому +13

      I've found the number system described in the vid in other parts of England (current in the West Country), but only where there is a cul-de-sac and the numbers wrap-around the end of the road (hence them going the other way on the opposite side). Quite useful on a small residential road, no so much in London I imagine.

    • @keziahchettleburgh4061
      @keziahchettleburgh4061 7 років тому +3

      its not always like this - two streets i used to know have started 1,2,3,4... at the top of the street on one side, and when it reaches the end it either loops round or crosses to the other side carrying on the consecutive number sequence until youre back at the top of the street. neither of those houses have been anywhere near london, one was inner northamptonshire and the other was a village just outside peterborough

    • @C_r_g_i
      @C_r_g_i 7 років тому

      From a town in Essex and I'm pretty sure most of our house numbers are in a straight line

  • @photografr7
    @photografr7 9 років тому +266

    ONE numberfile, TWO numberfile, THREE numberfile, etc.

    • @markuskekero8363
      @markuskekero8363 9 років тому +14

      *numberphile

    • @photografr7
      @photografr7 9 років тому

      +dusty burkybile Indeed. Oops!

    • @Shnarfbird
      @Shnarfbird 9 років тому +8

      +Bill Streifer
      Or if you wanted to take care of your nails in a particularly mathematical way.

    • @photografr7
      @photografr7 9 років тому +3

      Shnarfbird I get it ... "PHILE"

    • @northieee
      @northieee 8 років тому

      Numberception

  • @Frozen_Smoke1972
    @Frozen_Smoke1972 3 роки тому +73

    Speaking as a Brit, the numbers for houses thing can get a bit confusing but I have *never* seen numbers going in opposite directions.

    • @richardsinger01
      @richardsinger01 3 роки тому +3

      Nor have I, and the large difference on each side of the road is fairly unusual too.

    • @Frozen_Smoke1972
      @Frozen_Smoke1972 3 роки тому +5

      @@richardsinger01 I can think of a lot of examples in Liverpool and London where the numbers are disproportionate - a lot of it happens after massive redevelopment.

    • @roblewis226
      @roblewis226 3 роки тому +6

      I went to an address on a new estate where the house numbers were sequential, not odds and evens. I wanted 500 something and by the time I got to it I'd done a complete circumnavigation and arrived backs at the entrance, opposite No. 1. Just sick and twisted.

    • @irenejohnston6802
      @irenejohnston6802 3 роки тому +1

      Think it began right hand side from the Town Hall even Nos, left hand side from TH odd nos

    • @sigoy
      @sigoy 3 роки тому +2

      Must be super rare because I had no idea what he was talking about, thought he was talking about American streets. In the North East here it’s odd on one side of the street, even on the other, both incrementing the same direction. I’ve never seen an example of what he means in my life. Maybe an issue of believing London is representative of the whole of the UK 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • @zoria2718
    @zoria2718 3 роки тому +28

    "One Mississippi/Piccadilli" sounds rather like two seconds than one.

    • @homerggg2
      @homerggg2 3 роки тому +4

      Believe me, when it's my kids playing hide and seek they sure are right on the one second mark (and maybe less...).

    • @raebort
      @raebort 3 роки тому

      Definitely one second, not two

    • @nobody4911
      @nobody4911 3 роки тому +1

      i think people usually say it a bit faster than in the video

    • @josh.ryan.
      @josh.ryan. 3 роки тому +2

      I always treated it like a waltz. ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three, so ONE-missi-sippi, TWO-missi-sippi

    • @zoria2718
      @zoria2718 3 роки тому +1

      @@josh.ryan. Well, if you pronounce the missi-sippi elements quick enough then that's it, but the way they are saying it in the video is too slow for one second.

  • @TheGomenome
    @TheGomenome 5 років тому +289

    3:46 did numberphile predict in 2013 Britain putting Alan Turing on a banknote

    • @yuvalne
      @yuvalne 5 років тому +1

      Damn

    • @winterroadspokenword4681
      @winterroadspokenword4681 5 років тому +11

      Whaaaaaat? His name must have been bandied about for a while as a candidate for place on notes? Surely? Otherwise. How?

    • @qwertyuoip1234
      @qwertyuoip1234 4 роки тому +35

      Interestingly, Simon Singh, a regular on Numberphile, is on the committee that recommends people for banknoteworthiness.

  • @undisclosedinformation3467
    @undisclosedinformation3467 3 роки тому +257

    We say “treble” instead of triple in the NW

    • @ebl36
      @ebl36 3 роки тому +16

      Yep, we say that in East Anglia too.

    • @AdamPFarnsworth
      @AdamPFarnsworth 3 роки тому +5

      You must not mean Oregon/Washington/Idaho lol

    • @ebl36
      @ebl36 3 роки тому +15

      @@AdamPFarnsworth NW England haha!

    • @Junkable
      @Junkable 3 роки тому +4

      Treble is defo it

    • @josh0147
      @josh0147 3 роки тому +1

      I dont apart from in footy

  • @laserapfel24
    @laserapfel24 5 років тому +110

    In German its common to start counting at 20 (or to be specific 21) since 1 (eins) is just too short but with 21 (einundzwanzig) you get a feeling of how slow you need to count to count seconds
    Never heard anyone say words in between numbers

    • @Anisometry
      @Anisometry 5 років тому

      That makes sense, maybe I’ll try that

    • @istuart0
      @istuart0 5 років тому

      What happens when you get to 21?! einundzwanzig, einundzwanzig?!

    • @laserapfel24
      @laserapfel24 5 років тому +10

      @@istuart0 huh? Why twice einundzwanzig?
      You start with einundzwanzig (21), zweiundzwanzig (22)... and by the 20th second you'll count vierzig (40), einundvierzig (41), zweiundvierzig (42) and so on.
      And when you're done you just need to subtract 20 from what you counted.

    • @acied6200
      @acied6200 5 років тому

      Dutch too

    • @acied6200
      @acied6200 5 років тому

      @@duncanhw
      Je bedoelt duits ? 😂

  • @zakbrueckner615
    @zakbrueckner615 3 роки тому +6

    I'm American, and one of my childhood house had an address of 1. We were the only house on the street, though it was hardly a "street". The "street" was just our driveway. I can't tell you how many delivery people couldn't find it.

  • @martynbealing79
    @martynbealing79 6 років тому +453

    9/11 as an English person confuses me I have to deconstruct then reconstruct to get what that date means. 9/11 means 9th November to me.

    • @tessajalloh3914
      @tessajalloh3914 6 років тому +37

      Well. that's why we don't call it 9/11 isn't it? we call it September the 11th.

    • @tessajalloh3914
      @tessajalloh3914 6 років тому +16

      i'm aware mate :p British myself. As for the date thing, As i think i inadvertantly showed without thinking. it's not quite as uniform as you'd think. If i was including the day, certainly it'd be wednesday the 25th of April. However, if i wasn't, i'd say April 25th, or 25th of April.
      I was more noting that for us in the UK, we don't refer to it as 9/11 at all, as bane noted, since that would be 9th of November. To us the event is known as September the 11th, as it avoids the date number format, which would be 11/9/2001 here. So it's easier to remember by speaking the month rather than the 9/11 which is instantly recognised for the US.

    • @martynbealing79
      @martynbealing79 6 років тому +5

      I watch a lot of documentaries and the American ones throw me off, I think I've heard the news call it 9/11 not sure but when I hear English people call it that I find it pretty annoying. 🤔

    • @_amina
      @_amina 6 років тому +22

      i was born a bit after 9/11 and until i started year 8, i thought it was on 9th November.

    • @martynbealing79
      @martynbealing79 6 років тому +9

      I'm fascinated by cultural differences between UK and US I'm always picking up on them, some annoy me some interest me the way things are pronounced and used differently it's very fascinating.

  • @CheetahNL
    @CheetahNL 3 роки тому +385

    Double-O 7. Americans should watch more James Bond movies.

    • @linger5473
      @linger5473 3 роки тому +22

      I thought that was just a cool name

    • @sillybilly1662
      @sillybilly1662 3 роки тому +3

      They can't understand him because he is British.🤣🤣🤣

    • @AbenZin1
      @AbenZin1 3 роки тому +17

      You mean noughty-nought seven?

    • @pwuk
      @pwuk 3 роки тому +1

      @@linger5473 Dougal o'Seven?

    • @bacicinvatteneaca
      @bacicinvatteneaca 3 роки тому +6

      @Bob Ajob in non English languages, it's translated as zero zero seven.

  • @ZygimantasA
    @ZygimantasA 4 роки тому +132

    For zeros, I often say 'o' here in the UK, as in the letter 'o' :)

    • @SMG2fanatic
      @SMG2fanatic 4 роки тому +16

      Same in the states

    • @artifex2.080
      @artifex2.080 4 роки тому +2

      I've heard nought and blank although thats not common

    • @q12aw50
      @q12aw50 4 роки тому +2

      I usually say o do phone numbers like 1o4

    • @lindhe
      @lindhe 4 роки тому

      007

    • @Kat-ez4ni
      @Kat-ez4ni 4 роки тому

      I think in all Commonwealth countries we say O instead of 0

  • @Adrian-cg7jc
    @Adrian-cg7jc 3 роки тому +9

    I don’t put any word in between, I just remember how long a second is and count up from 0. It’s always accurate too.

  • @Gribbo9999
    @Gribbo9999 4 роки тому +53

    In the UK they dial "nine, nine, nine" for emergency. In Australia we dial "triple zero".

    • @Diablo_Himself
      @Diablo_Himself Місяць тому

      In America they don't dial "nine hundred eleven" or "nine eleven" though...they dial "nine one one".

  • @daxonphillips7798
    @daxonphillips7798 6 років тому +333

    As a british person, i have never heared 1 Piccadilly, 2 Piccadilly..., I have used Mississippi though

    • @njf1410
      @njf1410 6 років тому +10

      Don't know where I learnt it, but I always count One thousand and one, one thousand and two etc for seconds but when I get to ten or above, I say One thousand ten, One thousand fifteen or whatever as adding the 'and', which I would always do if it wasn't being used for counting seconds, makes it too long.

    • @q3b26
      @q3b26 6 років тому +27

      I've always used elephant

    • @shebbs1
      @shebbs1 6 років тому +4

      I have heard the Piccadilly version, but have heard others too.

    • @umkm2k
      @umkm2k 6 років тому +3

      StupidAAA where did you learn to use Mississippi in the UK?

    • @leea8706
      @leea8706 6 років тому +14

      DeusXDebauchery TV, we get a ton of American TV shows and we see people saying Mississippi when counting. There’s a particularly famous example from Friends when Ross gets a spray tan.

  • @Usagizaka46
    @Usagizaka46 6 років тому +1098

    "Double-O Seven"
    "Triple A batteries"
    Seems universal to me :)

    • @ink7761
      @ink7761 6 років тому +51

      Reminds of that Vine. ‘a’...’ahh’...’AAH’...’AAAAAHHHHHH’. RIP vine

    • @TalysAlankil
      @TalysAlankil 6 років тому +56

      As a French speaker we tend to say "0-0-7" and "A-A-A" not "Double-0 7" and "Triple A" so it might be common across English dialects but definitely not universal.

    • @BrightonandHoveActually
      @BrightonandHoveActually 6 років тому +10

      I was always taught that "triple" shoud not be used in phone numbers. Thus it is either "nine double nine" or "double nine nine". but not "triple nine"
      In fact, though, this is the UK emergency number and we normally say "nine nine nine".
      However, the european 112 emergency number has worked in the UK for some years and I understand that other international emergency numbers will also work - though I am not about to waste everybody's time experimenting to see if it is true.

    • @BrightonandHoveActually
      @BrightonandHoveActually 6 років тому

      @joe marsdenYes - but "AA" means "Automobile Association" when referring to motor vehicles - at least I hope it means that and not "Alcoholics Anonymous" in that context.
      And the AA is by no means the only breakdown service in the UK. There is also the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), Green Flag etc

    • @grandexandi
      @grandexandi 6 років тому +5

      "universal" is bold

  • @GuacJuan
    @GuacJuan 3 роки тому +16

    As a Brit, I’ve never seen a house number that has exceeded 150 in Britain.

    • @user-kt3zv1cm5j
      @user-kt3zv1cm5j 3 роки тому

      I never thought to think about that but now I'm desperate to know what the highest house number in Britain is haha my old house was in the 170s (scotland) and I'm sure the road must have got beyond 200 because that house was only halfway down it

    • @kagenekoUA
      @kagenekoUA 3 роки тому +2

      Meanwhile in Sherlock Holmes: 221b Baker street

    • @95CamaCazzie
      @95CamaCazzie 3 роки тому

      I used to live at 190 but there was 200 houses on that very long street so it did start at 1

    • @skywalka777
      @skywalka777 3 роки тому

      I live in the US and my house is 15068

    • @Nico_911
      @Nico_911 3 роки тому

      Mine is 190

  • @nikosaarinen3258
    @nikosaarinen3258 6 років тому +227

    In Finnish I say 3823 as kolmetuhattakahdeksansataakaksikymmentäkolme. Which means three of thousands, eight of hundreds, two of tens, three. Never 38 of hundreds.

  • @gustavmeyrink_2.0
    @gustavmeyrink_2.0 3 роки тому +62

    I'm not in London and where I live the house numbers are invariably odd on one side of the road and even on the other.
    I live at 37 and my immediate neighbours to the left and right are 35 and 39 while 36, 38 and 40 are opposite.

    • @jaykk6940
      @jaykk6940 3 роки тому +14

      The numbers on a street start with odd on left and even on the right. AFAIK all over UK.

    • @gustavmeyrink_2.0
      @gustavmeyrink_2.0 3 роки тому +2

      @@jaykk6940 One would think so but apparently not where that guy lives. Check 10:22 onwards.

    • @DSQueenie
      @DSQueenie 3 роки тому +1

      It is the Samson London except 38 isn’t opposite it’s opposite and at the other end of the road. You learn really quickly to walk on the side of the road that the house you’re going to will be on.

    • @gilly9666
      @gilly9666 3 роки тому +4

      I live in number 2 opposite me the numbers go 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ,7 , 8 ,9 ,10 then next to me it is 4 , but on my side of the street there are just 2 houses

    • @sigoy
      @sigoy 3 роки тому +4

      Must be super rare because I had no idea what he was talking about, thought he was talking about American streets. In the North East here it’s odd on one side of the street, even on the other, both incrementing the same direction. I’ve never seen an example of what he means in my life. Maybe an issue of believing London is representative of the whole of the UK 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • @magnustips
    @magnustips 4 роки тому +190

    In Denmark a lot of people say "1 kasse øl, 2 kasser øl, 3 kasser øl [...]"
    Which means "1 crate of beer, 2 crates of beer, 3 crates of beer [...]"

    • @rasmus619
      @rasmus619 4 роки тому +5

      But we also do something similar to the germansk by starting at 21 or 31.

    • @skakdosmer
      @skakdosmer 4 роки тому

      Den har jeg sgu aldrig hørt! lol
      (Danish for “that one I’ve (beep) never heard”)

    • @EldenringLeaks
      @EldenringLeaks 4 роки тому

      Lau Bjerno hvad mener du med du ikke har hørt den før, jeg har aldrig hørt andet end det, når folk skal tælle på den måde.

    • @skakdosmer
      @skakdosmer 4 роки тому +1

      @@EldenringLeaks Jeg mener naturligvis præcis hvad jeg siger. Er det så svært at forstå? Der er ingen i min omgangskreds der bruger den. Det afhænger nok af hvor man kommer fra.

    • @EldenringLeaks
      @EldenringLeaks 4 роки тому

      Lau Bjerno det tænkte jeg faktisk også var årsagen til det. Kan godt lide at du faktisk svarede

  • @melbutterworth7976
    @melbutterworth7976 3 роки тому +27

    I feel like as young people are reading out phone numbers less and as American media becomes more and more prevalent in the uk the whole double numbers thing might go away completely.

  • @microdesigns2000
    @microdesigns2000 5 років тому +89

    1 Numberphile 2 Numberphile 3

  • @theJellyjoker
    @theJellyjoker 8 років тому +105

    1 thousand Mississippi elephants in Piccadilly.

  • @edisyuksel-kilic7463
    @edisyuksel-kilic7463 8 років тому +126

    Usually In the UK, if there are three identical numbers in a row e.g. 444 you say treble four, not triple four.

    • @TaylorXIV
      @TaylorXIV 8 років тому +2

      Edis Yuksel-kilic really?? as an Aussie that says triple it sounds like your joking :P

    • @farahali3032
      @farahali3032 8 років тому +5

      dont listen to him.. we say trouble 4 not treble 4.

    • @edisyuksel-kilic7463
      @edisyuksel-kilic7463 8 років тому

      True.

    • @ryanleaf8704
      @ryanleaf8704 8 років тому +3

      Triple is common in the U.S. but we still use treble in certain areas of society. For example, laws in the U.S. sometimes refer to 'treble damages' to mean three times the amount of damages. Likely a result of American law being based on British common law.

    • @alexe184
      @alexe184 7 років тому +2

      I use treble, and I'm scottish

  • @Jeffrey_troutman
    @Jeffrey_troutman 3 роки тому +6

    Many thanks to the algorithm for gathering us all together again. We've been through a lot since this was posted.

  • @timepatroltrunks8276
    @timepatroltrunks8276 3 роки тому +134

    I don't use any filler words to count seconds. As a child I recall watching the microwave digital timer counting down and the rate it does is burned into my brain.

    • @BobBob-oe9uf
      @BobBob-oe9uf 3 роки тому +75

      Do you also beep when you reach zero?

    • @R3DCODE
      @R3DCODE 3 роки тому +19

      @@BobBob-oe9uf you almost made me spit out my tea.

    • @KC9UDX
      @KC9UDX 3 роки тому +4

      I don't either, but I was trained as a musician before I ever encountered people saying Mrs. Sippy, and I found it very strange. Seconds are Allegro Moderato half notes.

    • @FireyDeath4
      @FireyDeath4 3 роки тому +5

      Some time ago, I made a song that synchronises with a two-minute timer. And listening to that for probably some hours while doing manual things that took hours or so was pretty much how I memorised how long to make a second. Of course, I rely on the song, which might have some time difference in my head, but obviously you can guess what kind of song it is.

    • @dfc9547
      @dfc9547 3 роки тому +4

      @@BobBob-oe9uf that is honestly the single funniest reply i have ever seen in the youtube comment section.

  • @Mgooy
    @Mgooy 5 років тому +207

    In numbers it's sometimes said treble instead of triple

    • @jphili
      @jphili 5 років тому +7

      Lol that must have started because somebody misunderstood someone else say triple. It makes absolutely no sense.

    • @oywiththepoodlesalready1790
      @oywiththepoodlesalready1790 5 років тому +1

      Jared Philibert I knoww the first time I heard that I was so confused😂

    • @Darbyjack
      @Darbyjack 5 років тому +13

      @@jphili It's correct. Treble means of three parts. (Yes I know the spelling treble has other meanings too)

    • @diptoneelde836
      @diptoneelde836 5 років тому +3

      I saw the word treble being used in place of triple in some works of Shakespeare.

    • @Ferrastar
      @Ferrastar 5 років тому +4

      Jared Philibert treble is from the Latin triplum. Triple, 3-tuple, treble, triplet, and triad are all based off that

  • @nimuenorth6295
    @nimuenorth6295 6 років тому +129

    My native language is German, but personally, I’ve always thought that the break between saying sixteen hundred and five thousand three hundred happens at two thousand and has to do with how we note time. There’s this long tradition of cutting history up into centuries that carried over into how we labelled them with “hundreds”. We’re so used to hearing the numbers below 20 with hundred that it doesn’t strike us as odd in other contexts. So far it seems to hold true for how we’ve labelled the years of the new millennium as two thousand something rather than twenty hundred something. It might also be a factor that the number words above 20 are constructed differently than below and get a bit clunkier. (These points hold true for both English and German.) I never thought about it before this video but with the street block system in many US cities, saying fifty three hundred makes sense because it immediately tells you you’re looking for the 53rd block on that street. Just goes to show that language adapts to how we use it.

    • @gerardmontgomery280
      @gerardmontgomery280 6 років тому +3

      I think it comes from car engine sizes. 12 hundred, 16 hundred, 18 hundred then 2 litre.

    • @altrocks
      @altrocks 6 років тому +3

      I haven't heard people refer to the year as "two thousand" since 2010. From 2000 to 2009 you're absolutely correct, but since then (almost ten years now) all I've heard is twenty ten, twenty eleven, twenty twelve (especially with the movie), etc. Is that not what's happening everywhere?

    • @TheDundeeBiscuitLuvU
      @TheDundeeBiscuitLuvU 5 років тому

      Also years, we're used to saying the seventeen hundreds, or at seventeen hundred hours for time as you mentioned, but I think after about 2500 it's extremely rare to do that as there aren't many established contexts where it's used.

    • @BernardS4
      @BernardS4 5 років тому

      It means that it is between 53rd and 54th street even if the street are not formally numbered.

    • @funbucket09
      @funbucket09 5 років тому

      This year is TwentyNinteen. It is not TwothousandandNineteen. Your argument is moot.

  • @DJ-Manuel
    @DJ-Manuel 3 роки тому +4

    The seconds counting, in german we count „21, 22, 23,...“ its directly translated one twenty, two twenty, three twenty, etc. (ein-undzwanzig, zwei-undzwanzig, drei-undzwanzig)

    • @Kefford666
      @Kefford666 3 роки тому

      One and twenty, two and twenty, three and twenty :)

    • @Lillith.
      @Lillith. 3 роки тому

      In Dutch as well. Eenentwintig, tweeëntwintig, drieëntwintig

  • @trodd1sox
    @trodd1sox 9 років тому +711

    This guy needs to eat more

  • @seashoreroses6662
    @seashoreroses6662 5 років тому +291

    I find it odd that you find it odd that there is a lack of logic in the house numbering system in the UK. You mention finding it strange that humans actually decided to do it this [illogical] way. I think the point is that they didn’t consciously decide it; it has occurred because our villages, towns and streets evolved far more organically over a much longer period of time than in countries such as the US and Australia.

    • @scattygirl1
      @scattygirl1 5 років тому +29

      Agreed. And it only happens when new properties replace old ones. When he mentions 5 7 9 being on one side of the street and 46 48 50 being on the other, it'll be because further down the street a block of flats or whatever got built and then the subsequent numbers all got shunted up, but it would have been "high-handed" or too inconvenient to the people on the even side of the street to make them change house numbers to fit in that they may well have had for themselves for decades. If house numbers were changed every time new properties went up, people would be changing their numbers a lot in certain areas, and I'm guessing people's love of continuity outweighs people's love of the rational.
      I know you know this Seashore Roses- but just for anyone else out there :-)

    • @alekslav484
      @alekslav484 5 років тому +4

      Australia is a continent.

    • @CraigUntlNytTym
      @CraigUntlNytTym 5 років тому +9

      @@alekslav484 no, no its not. there is in fact the continent of oceania that has Australia, new Zealand and other smaller islands

    • @RoobeeBlue
      @RoobeeBlue 5 років тому +10

      Australian addresses are more similar to UK addresses than American ones

    • @CraigUntlNytTym
      @CraigUntlNytTym 5 років тому +3

      @@brightsunshineydays no, Oceania is the continent

  • @dlwatib
    @dlwatib 10 років тому +20

    Some of the comments here about this being insulting to Americans are from people who are too thin-skinned about being American. This video is at least as much about how idiosyncratic British English has become.

  • @nyxbi809
    @nyxbi809 3 роки тому +4

    Someone had way too much fun animating all of CGPs parts lol

  • @averagejoe6031
    @averagejoe6031 3 роки тому +25

    I love how Grey’s accent hasn’t changed a bit despite living in London for a decade.

  • @aaroneagling-vose279
    @aaroneagling-vose279 3 роки тому +147

    I vividly remember using “elephant” to count seconds as a kid

    • @OPDixon
      @OPDixon 3 роки тому +3

      The only time I used elephant was when I was mad I got told count up in pink elephant because you can't say that angrily and you will calm down

    • @spacebum
      @spacebum 3 роки тому

      I was born in the early 70’s and was always told Mississippi. I only heard elephant in the last 10 years.

    • @ezrapetty9666
      @ezrapetty9666 3 роки тому +1

      I would use elephant and Mississippi. However, I didnt know what Mississippi was, I thought I was saying Mrs Ippy

    • @iterumconare4258
      @iterumconare4258 3 роки тому

      @@ezrapetty9666 i just thought I was talking a river (a bit lile one zambezi, two zambezi). As a Brit, I never heard of the state mississipi until I was about 11.

    • @jaidonrymer3621
      @jaidonrymer3621 3 роки тому

      Always used elephant, if you learned it as a kid the different rythm flows natural and if you're speaking out loud gives just a slight pause for breath if you need

  • @eburneentertainment9903
    @eburneentertainment9903 3 роки тому +109

    I've never seen address numbers going on the opposite direction in the UK. Misaligned, sure, but I've only ever seen them incrementing in the same direction

    • @Ghozer
      @Ghozer 3 роки тому +20

      Have seen it (thought rarely) and usually on older streets in older towns....
      Newer ones they bounce opposites... 1... 3...5...7 one side, and 2...4...6...8 on the other
      Older streets are often numbered in order from one end to the other, then back up the opposite side... I believe this was an old naming convention

    • @sigoy
      @sigoy 3 роки тому +19

      Must be super rare because I had no idea what he was talking about, thought he was talking about American streets. In the North East here it’s odd on one side of the street, even on the other, both incrementing the same direction. This is the same in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh and all other towns and cities I’ve lived in 🤷🏻‍♂️

    • @journeymanmusic1038
      @journeymanmusic1038 3 роки тому +7

      I've worked as a delivery driver. I have definitely seen it a number of times and it is very annoying. Haha.

    • @dmail00
      @dmail00 3 роки тому +6

      House numbers increase as they get further away from the town, city ... centre. I can only imagine the street being on a boundry.

    • @bluesz1bluesz17
      @bluesz1bluesz17 3 роки тому

      i came here to say the same thing

  • @hkayakh
    @hkayakh Рік тому +2

    This is the most animated CGP Grey has ever been

  • @aidanb7782
    @aidanb7782 6 років тому +194

    this explains Double-oh seven

  • @gemma3335
    @gemma3335 8 років тому +117

    We normally says triple, but say if you had 4444, we'd say double 4, double 4

    • @gemma3335
      @gemma3335 8 років тому

      Oh and strangely enough I've always used 1 Mississippi etc

    • @lelo4205
      @lelo4205 8 років тому +3

      Yeah no ones gonna say Quadruple 4 xD that just sounds odd

    • @lukepeacock4646
      @lukepeacock4646 8 років тому +3

      We say treble

    • @peterdunlop7691
      @peterdunlop7691 8 років тому

      I'd say treble x too for xxx, and double x, double x for xxxx

    • @lythd
      @lythd 8 років тому +4

      for 444,444 id say sextiple 4

  • @625-m6f
    @625-m6f 4 роки тому +75

    Most of the time ,it’ll be odds on one side and even on the other with both sides starting at the same end. At least where I live

    • @daveamies5031
      @daveamies5031 4 роки тому +8

      Australia is like this too, house number 2 is opposite side of the street from 1, but on long streets especially where the lots are different sizes they quickly get out of sync, I used to live at house number 147 (yes the road was around 2km long) and the house opposite was 164.

    • @alanclarke4646
      @alanclarke4646 4 роки тому +8

      @@daveamies5031 most British streets have this happen. Also when the street goes round a corner so that it's longer on the one side so there are houses on the right for a left-hand bend and vice-versa.
      Another point is that, if you are walking on the left side of the road, and the houses nearest to you are odd, the numbers ALWAYS go UP ( both sides).

    • @daveamies5031
      @daveamies5031 4 роки тому +2

      @@alanclarke4646 So not surprising that Australia did it the same way as the British 👍🏼

    • @c64amigamac
      @c64amigamac 4 роки тому +2

      Same in Sweden

    • @Gautier-cw9bu
      @Gautier-cw9bu 4 роки тому +3

      Same in France

  • @Lorentari
    @Lorentari 3 роки тому +9

    In Danish we count like "1 - case of beer - 2 - cases of beer - 3 cases of beer"...
    Yeah... we have a problem.. we know.
    Also our addresses are [Street] [Number], [Zip code] [City]

    • @Diablo_Himself
      @Diablo_Himself Місяць тому

      Hmm...
      Ours are number/name, street, town/city/village, postcode, country (if international post).