Apparently, there is not yet a standard prefix for [10^27], in the way that "kilo" is "thousand" and "mega" is "million." That's how you know that a "kilobyte" is 1,000 bytes and a "megabyte" is 1,000,000 bytes. But so far only prefixes for units up to 10^24 ("yotta") have names, according to the International System of Units (SI). Here are the established prefixes.

Now comes a Facebook page (with more than 37,000 fans and counting), and an online petition to get "hella," a hip, Northern California slang term that means "a whole lot of" as a standard prefix for 10^27.

Rapalus

Amherst, MA

June 2009

MAR 08, 2010 03:36 PM

The only hella I ever want to hear/see is the band.

Cate

SUICIDEGIRL

I'm lost

MAR 08, 2010 03:39 PM

I think that's awesome. I'm a fan.

Lemonkid

Canada

May 2003

MAR 08, 2010 05:04 PM

motorfirebox said:
...because it's being run by idiots.

I don't think a group of people who want to give a name to a system of units can be considered "idiots" by any stretch of the imagination.

BoxOfficePoison

Portland, OR

June 2003

MAR 08, 2010 06:49 PM

I will never buy a computer with a hellabyte of memory as long as I live.

Worst part of having a brother from Northern California, every other word out of his mouth is hella.

maleficus

Lincoln, NE

March 2010

MAR 09, 2010 10:18 AM

There are certainly more valid reasons to be worried about the future. This story does sound like it should have been a scene in Idiocracy though.

semiretiredpunk

USA

March 2007

MAR 09, 2010 11:01 AM

Idiocracy might be more like an official resolution declaring that numbers that big are "meaningless" and "stupid," and that from here on out similar quantities should be referred to as "a lot."

Dryad

Asheville, NC

July 2008

MAR 09, 2010 11:26 AM

Now comes a Facebook page (with more than 37,000 fans and counting), and an online petition to get "hella," a hip, Northern California slang term that means "a whole lot of" as a standard prefix for 10^27.

OK, here are my issues.
"hip" is not the right word here.
Also, having been born in Northern CA and living 24 years of my life there, I don't think I ever once said hella, because it is stupid.
Hella stupid.

But hellabyte is kinda fun to say.
Hella fun to say.

Cate

SUICIDEGIRL

I'm lost

MAR 09, 2010 11:36 AM

People gets so firey when talking about hella. I've lived in No. Cal my whole life, I say it all the time. But why transplants get so butt sore about it, I'm not sure why. It's not nearly as bad as ain't. "Hell of" it's like a new slang.

hella cool.

MrCrisp

I'm lost

August 2004

MAR 09, 2010 11:45 AM

Hella crybabies abound.

AlienHeep

I'm lost

August 2008

MAR 09, 2010 11:50 AM

I mentioned this somewhere recently.. ah.. here

maleficus

Lincoln, NE

March 2010

MAR 09, 2010 01:07 PM

semiretiredpunk said:
Idiocracy might be more like an official resolution declaring that numbers that big are "meaningless" and "stupid," and that from here on out similar quantities should be referred to as "a lot."

Haha true enough

"You sound like a fag or somethin', usin' all those numbers and stuff"

Cate said:
People gets so firey when talking about hella. I've lived in No. Cal my whole life, I say it all the time. But why transplants get so butt sore about it, I'm not sure why. It's not nearly as bad as ain't. "Hell of" it's like a new slang.

hella cool.

Even worse is people who use the word "literally" to describe not so literal situations. To be honest, I have no problem with "hella" or "ain't". As long as the message gets across.

MrCrisp

I'm lost

August 2004

MAR 09, 2010 01:22 PM

Hella crybabies abound. Literally.

maleficus

Lincoln, NE

March 2010

MAR 09, 2010 01:30 PM

Oh, you!

BoozeUzi

Portland, OR

November 2007

MAR 09, 2010 01:54 PM

The mass of stupid wins in the long run, go evolution.