[Lonesome in Massachussets]

nineteen billion pounds... Nineteen thousand million pounds

I'm confused, Click and Clack say there are no millionaires in England.

billion (bîl´yen) noun
Abbr. b.
1. The cardinal number equal to 10^9.
2. Chiefly British. The cardinal number equal to 10^12.
3. An indefinitely large number.

[French, a million million : blend of bi-, second power. See bi-1 and million.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.

[Smile-n-Win]

I'm confused

Actually, it's the British who are confused about how to refer to 10⁹ (billion or thousand million?), and what the word billion means (10⁹ or 10¹²?).

Just like they are confused as to whether they are British or Europeans. Whether they want to continue to measure distances in miles or convert to kilometers. Whether they want to continue to use their own money or convert to euros. Whether they want to be free or live in Socialism. I wish they made up their minds--these questions are such no-brainers!