Sir, – While Dermot Heslin is quite correct in his assertion re the decimal point and Red Bull sales (Letters, November 3rd) he should also remember that in the Germanic countries the decimal point and comma mean the exact opposite to their use in anglophone countries when used in mathematics.
Therefore for a German, Austrian or Swiss commentator to claim sales of 9,804 billion cans of product is quite correct, as it means exactly the same as 9.804 billion to an Irish or UK reader.
An important difference, especially for those given to shopping on German sites like Ebay.de, where you could get into quite a bit of trouble if applying the Irish/UK convention.
– Yours, etc,
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NIGEL McHUGH,
Killeshandra, Cavan.
