eli5: why is x⁰ = 1 instead of non-existent?

Question

It kinda doesn’t make sense.
x¹= x

x² = x*x

x³= x*x*x

etc…

and even with negative numbers you’re still multiplying the number by itself

like (x)-² = 1/x² = 1/(x*x)

In: 1797

Answer 1

Since it’s ELI5, the quickest way to explain it is that every number going up is *x, and every number going down is /x, meaning x^0 = x^1 /x, which results in x/x=1