Alright, so remember how we alluded earlier to the fact that economics is closer to gut-based money alchemy than, say, math? It turns out that there isn’t a firm line of delineation between a recession and a depression. It can be a little jarring to find out that the financial stability of the world rests with a discipline in which words don’t mean anything, but here we are.

As Fortune puts it, “There is no standard definition of the difference between a recession and a depression but depressions are typically more severe in terms of the magnitude and length of the economic contraction.” In other words, you can’t really spot a true-blue depression until it’s already well underway.

The last six points in U.S. history commonly accepted to have fallen under the category of “depression” took place between 1893 and 1933. They all lasted more than a year, and saw the country’s GDP dip 14% or more. The Great Depression went on for 43 months, with a total GDP contraction of 26.7%. Recessions, on the other hand, tend not to last as long or cause, comparatively, as much damage. The U.S.’s longest recession lasted from December of 2007 until June of 2009, and caused around a 5% loss to the GDP. There. Now that’s cleared up.