Brother, Can You Spare a Digit?

The BBC reports that the national debt clock in Times Square "has run out of digits to record the spiraling figure."

The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed the $10 trillion point last month, the sign could not display the full amount.

The board was erected to highlight the $2.7 trillion level of debt in 1989.

The clock's owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt.

A quadrillion? That's one thousand million million. We could save a few bucks simply by writing it as 10^15.