Is zero really a number? How did it come about? Hannah Fry tells the story of how zero went from n’’t always seen as that, and it still doesn’t act quite like other numbers. Can you divide by zero, for example? Hannah Fry explains how zero came about, from its origins in ancient civilisations, through the resistance it faced from the Roman numeral system, to being the cornerstone of calculus. Watch more of our lovingly crafted animations about science and maths here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbnrZHfNEDZwhNhy8qucR15N1_X1iZJzv And if you enjoyed this video, subscribe: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter