Breaking News English

When someone gets a big salary, we say they earn "telephone numbers". A man in New York is suing the city (and others) for so much it is impossible to think of a comparison. Anton Purisima, 62, is suing for two undecillion. Most English speakers would not know or have heard of the word for this amount. It is two undecillion – a two followed by 36 zeros. The only people who might use this word are astrophysicists and astronomers. Two undecillion dollars is, in fact, more than all the money in the whole world. Even more than all the wealth created throughout our entire history.

So what did New York City do so wrong to be sued for such an amazingly huge sum? Mr Purisima is suing the city (and local hospitals, LaGuardia Airport, the transportation system, a bakery and a dog owner) for "civil-rights violations, personal injury, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, fraud, attempted murder, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy to defraud". All because a "rabies-infected" dog bit his finger on a city bus; then, a "Chinese couple" took photos of him without asking; and he is overcharged for coffee at LaGuardia Airport.