Chinese riddle rice story

The Chinese tale of the rice grains on a chessboard (also found in Indian folklore) tells of an inventor who asks a grateful emperor for a seemingly modest reward: one grain of rice on the first chessboard square, doubling to two on the second, four on the third, and so on, for all 64 squares, demonstrating the astonishing power of exponential growth, as the king quickly realizes he owes more rice than exists in his entire kingdom.