Donald in Mathmagic Land

[adair_t@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz]

	The only reason I bought the recent issue of Donald Duck Adventures was
because of the adaptation of "Mathmagic Land" by Tony Strobl.  I'm a bit
partial to educational comicbooks, and I was curious to compare this story with
the film.
	Overall, it was enjoyable, and factual.  I  was disappointed that the
pool table scene was edited, as I remember being awed by the method of using
the diamonds on the sides, but had forgotten as to how to use them.  I suppose
Disney didn't want to promote juvenile delinquency.
	I may be mistaken (actually, a book I read may be mistaken), but I
thought Algebra was named after a middle-eastern mathematician, not after a
word.  I was also surprised that Scrooge, a brilliant bussinessman, didn't
realize the mistake of doubling money each time.  For those of you who want a
physical demonstration of this, try folding a piece of paper eight times.

	(After five minutes with a calculator and pen, the sum that Scrooge
would own Donald would be      $184,467,440,737,095,516.16
	Or, in other words, one hundred eighty-four quadrillion, four hundred
sixty-seven trillion, four hundred forty billion, seven hundred thirty-seven
million, ninety-five thousand, five hundred sixteen dollars and sixteen cents.)
        (I just realized a mistake.  Did Donald start with one penny, or two? 
If one, then divide the above total by two.  If you have a calculator handy,
the answer should be 2^63 (two to the sixty-third power)).

	This reminds me of a subject which I haven't seen here yet.  How much
money is in Scrooge's moneybin?

Torsten "grains of sand" Adair	adair_t at kosmos.wcc.govt.nz	Wellington, NZ