Scope of "more than"

Language Log 2025-12-01

"The hottest new AI company is…Google?", CNN 11/29/2025, shows a slide telling us that Google Search is "Bringing Generative AI to more people than any product in the world":

Jonathan Smith, who sent in the link, commented

"to more people than our competitors" yes, "to more people than there are fish in the sea" yes, "to more people than e.g. potable water [is brought]" really…?

The syntax and semantics of "more than" constructions are complicated, in ways that sometimes lead to Escher Sentences.

I collected a sample of real-world sentences illustrating various corners of Jonathan's question, but I think I'll leave this one open for readers to explore.