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Maths

What is place value?

Episode 826 12:33

In this episode

Have you ever wondered why we count in tens? Look down at your hands—you are holding the answer! Because we have ten fingers, most of the world uses a magical mathematical superpower called "place value" built all around the number ten. But not everyone did it this way! Did you know the ancient Maya counted in twenties because they used their toes, too? Or that the ancient Babylonians counted in sixties, which is exactly why we still have 60 seconds in a minute today? In this mind-expanding episode of Maths is Not Boring, Mira and Finn uncover the greatest trick in the universe: the number slide! Discover how a brilliant system born in ancient India, carved onto shiny copper plates, lets us write every single number that will ever exist using just ten simple shapes. Plus, find out why the number zero is the ultimate heroic placeholder! Join us to see how a simple step to the left turns a tiny one into a massive trillion, and why you will never look at a video game scoreboard the same way again!

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