One one-hundredth of a second
Submitted by davidnielsen on Sat, 08/16/2008 - 10:12
ShareThis
Quick. Say “one thousand and one.”
That’s supposed to be one second.
So what’s a tenth of a second? There are 17 letters in “one thousand and one.” So try saying 1/10th of that – 1.7 letters -- O and 7/10ths of an n.
There. That’s 1/10th of a second.
Now try dividing that by 10. What is one-tenth of an O and one-tenth of seven-tenths of an n?
That’s really imperceptible, isn’t it? That’s what one one-hundredth of a second is.
And yet, one one-hundredth of a second is perceptible to sophisticated timing devices, the kind used in swimming and track and field races.
And it’s a good thing, too. Can you imagine trying to decide who won the race between Michael Phelps and Milosad Cavic by the naked eye?
Phelps nips Cavic
Paying taxes unites us. It also divides us. People can pay five and even six times more in state and local taxes than other folks in similar circumstances making similar incomes.
Who's got your number?
In one of the fastest-growing forms of identity theft, crooks are stealing tax refunds by swiping personal information and using it to trick the Internal Revenue Service.
