On this Moment of Science Don and Ya?l talk about something you might find hard to believe, but work it out on paper and you'll find it is true (we did).  D: Today's Moment of Science is about lightning bugs. Lightning bugs are cool because if you squish 'em you can make...oh, forget it!

Y: What's the problem?

D: I'm just tired of working for A Moment of Science. Do you know how hard it is to come up with another fascinating tidbit every day? I'm going to find a new job.

Y: I've got a job for you.

D: Oh yeah? Does it pay better than this one?

Y: I'll let you figure that out. The job lasts for one month, and you only get one penny on the first day.

D: Hey! What kind of deal is that?

Y: Hang on! On the second day I'll pay you twice what you made the first day. That's two pennies.

D: Three cents altogether -- now we're getting somewhere.

Y: On the third day I'll again pay you twice what you've made the day before. That's four more cents. Every day I'll double the amount made the day before. At the end of one month you're out of a job. What do you say? Do you take the offer?

D: No, of course not. Who would work for pennies?

Y: That's a shame, because you're not realizing how numbers work. When a number continually doubles itself we say it is "increasing geometrically." That means the larger the number becomes, the faster it rises with each additional day. How much would you guess you would earn just on the last day of the month?

D: Um...ten bucks?

Y: Over ten million dollars!

D: Ten million dollars? Starting from a penny!?!

Y: That's geometric increase.

D: Hmmm...do I get health insurance too?