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

Think of powers as how many times you multiply 1 by the number ie 2^(0) = 1 : 2^(1) = 1 * 2 : 2^(2) = 1 * 2 * 2