Interesting Math adventure.
Today, while having lunch with my parents at Litton’s, Barry Litton (the owner) posed a scenario that I had a hard time wrapping my head around. It was this:
Barry: If a man came to your home and said, “I’d like to work in your yard everyday for the next 31 days. All I ask for is you pay me 1 cent the first day then double it every day after for the next 31 days.” How much do you think you would end up paying?
Me: No idea… I can’t do that much math in my head.
Barry: over Ten Million dollars
Me: *gulp*
So, the more I thought about this the more impossible it sounded… I mean, we’re talking about pennies!! So, here’s the Math. One employee, 31 days of employment, 1 cent first day, doubling everyday after.
Day 1: 1 cent
Day 2: 2 cents
Day 3: 4 cents
Day 4: 8 cents
Day 5: 16 cents
Day 6: 32 cents
Day 7: 64 cents
Day 8: 128 cents = $1.28
Day 9: 256 cents = $2.56
Day 10: 512 cents = $5.12
Day 11: 1024 cents = $10.24
Day 12: 2048 cents = $20.48
Day 13: 4096 cents = $40.96
Day 14: 8192 cents = $81.92
Day 15: 16384 cents = $163.84
Day 16: 32768 cents = $327.68
Day 17: 65536 cents = $655.36
Day 18: 131072 cents = $1,310.72
Day 19: 262144 cents = $2,621.44
Day 20: 524288 cents = $5,242.88
Day 21: 1048576 cents = $10,485.76
Day 22: 2097152 cents = $20,971.52
Day 23: 4194304 cents = $41,943.04
Day 24: 8388608 cents = $83,886.08
Day 25: 16777216 cents = $167,772.16
Day 26: 33554432 cents = $335,544.32
Day 27: 67108864 cents = $671,088.64
Day 28: 134217728 cents = $1,342,177.28
Day 29: 268435456 cents = $2,684,354.56
Day 30: 536870912 cents = $5,368,709.12
Day 31: 1073741824 cents = $10,737,418.24
——————————————–
Total monthly pay: $21,474,836.47
Well over 10 million. So… I guess, this would be a good deal if you could get it! Anyone need an IT guy for 31 days?? Start cheap! 😀
Makes you think twice about getting rid of the penny now, doesn’t it? Lunch was still quite good at Litton’s, even though I was distracted by the above math problem. If you want a good Burger and some interesting math discussions, go see Barry Litton over at Litton’s in Fountain City.
Visit their website: http://www.littonsburgers.com
Follow them on Twitter: @littons
© 2010, Robert Owen. All rights reserved.
Gina says
June 19, 2010 at 11:22 pmMy Daddy must know Barry Litton because he played the same trick on me when I was about 9.
His slant was, “If you pay me a penny and then double it every day, you can be the boss of me for as long as you can afford it. Then I get to be the boss of you, again.”
I couldn’t afford it for long. (It was the 70s, so I probably had less than a buck to my name…)
Robert Owen says
June 20, 2010 at 12:24 amI was completely unable to comprehend how he got to such a large amount starting from just a penny…. I had to pull out a pen and bum a piece of paper… Then lunch came and I discontinued my “figurin” until I got home.
Robyn says
June 21, 2010 at 1:15 pmHa! That’s awesome–and insane!
Robert Owen says
June 21, 2010 at 9:36 pmAmazingly insane! 😆