Two single word (or 64 binary digits) capable of expressing numbers as large as 1.7 E 308, which is 1 E 206 times the number of atoms in the known universe. (1.7 E 308 means 1.7 times 10 raised to the 308th power.)
Why did the system crash? After we got sued for coding gender as binary we decided to use double word floats instead. That worked in beta test in New York but when we brought California on-line the whole thing crashed.
by Len Bakerloo June 17, 2018