Mulled Vine

Infinity is a fancy word for something that never ends or finishes. For example, time goes on and on, forever (if you wait long enough), never stopping. It never FINishes – it is infinite. Got it?

Numbers are the same. There is no biggest number. Don’t believe me? Humph! Ok, smart donkey, think of the biggest number you can. Got it? Ok, now add one to it, and that’s a bigger number. There is no biggest number. You can always add one to that number and get a bigger number.

Still with me?

Good, because now it gets a bit weird.

Imagine you have a piece of rubber – I mean, really streeeeetchy rubber – say a piece as long as your ruler. That’s 30cm for you clever people out there. Now get a pen. How many dots in a row do you reckon you can draw on your piece of rubber? 100? 200? Maybe even 300?

Ok, so do it. Draw the dots on the rubber in a nice row. See you muuuuch later.

Done it? Cool.

Now stretch your piece of rubber. You might need some help with this. Go ask your Dad – I’m sure he’s got nothing better to do. Trust me.

Are you stretching yet? See how the dots are separating? Now stretch the rubber until the space between the dots is about 30cm. Yes, I know you need a big room to do this. Go ask your Mum if you can go to the park and do some ‘science’. She won’t believe you, even if Dad is going with you, so be sure to take this article with you when you ask here.

Right, now get anyone you can at the park to help by drawing more dots on the rubber so that there are no more spaces and you have a really long line drawn on the rubber.

Waddayamean you don’t want to? It is NOT pointless!! (Get it? POINT-less? )

Oh, so you know what’s going to happen do you?

Yes, you are right. You can go on stretching the rubber for ever (I told you to get REALLY stretchy rubber), and keep on drawing dots.

So how many dots can you draw on your piece of stretchy rubber?

Infinitely many.