Zero

What do you have left when you eat all your snacks. Me. What number is on the scoreboard before the game starts. That's me, too. I am the quiet space between a 1 and a 2 on a number line, and I am the reason ten (10) is so much bigger than one (1). Before you knew my name, you might have thought I was just empty space, but I am one of the most important ideas you'll ever meet. Hello. I am the number Zero.

For a very long time, people counted things without me. They had numbers like I, V, and X but had no way to write about having 'none'. Then, a long time ago in a place called Babylonia, around the 3rd century BCE, people started leaving a blank space in their numbers to show I was there. It was like they were saving a spot for me. Later, in another part of the world, the amazing Mayan people gave me a cool symbol that looked like a shell around the 4th century CE. But it was in India that I really became a star. Around the 5th century CE, mathematicians gave me my round shape and a name, 'sunya,' which means 'empty'. A super-smart man named Brahmagupta wrote a book in the year 628 CE that finally gave me rules, showing everyone how to add and subtract with me. I wasn't just a placeholder anymore; I was a real number.

My journey wasn't over. From India, I traveled with traders and scholars. In the 9th century CE, Arab mathematicians thought I was fantastic and called me 'sifr'. They used me to build amazing things and solve tricky problems. A famous mathematician named Al-Khwarizmi helped share my story with lots of people. It took me a while longer to get to Europe. A traveler named Fibonacci brought me there in a book he wrote in the year 1202 CE. At first, people were a little confused by my shape and my job, but soon they realized how helpful I was for everything from building castles to buying groceries.

Today, you can find me everywhere. I help computers talk to each other using just me and my best friend, One. I am the starting line for every race and the place a rocket launches from when the countdown hits 'zero'. I show you the difference between having ten dollars and a hundred dollars. I may look like nothing, but I hold a place for everything. I am the beginning of every new count, every new idea, and every new adventure. What will you start with me today.