Gear Ratios

Is it possible for a manual transmission to have second gear at a higher ratio than first gear? I was recently told that I should park my car on a hill with the car left in second gear, as opposed to first as second has higher ratio, but something about this just doesn't seem right. My understanding of gear ratios is that the number on the left is how many revolutions of the pinion gear it takes to fully rotate the ring gear once. Therefore the higher the number on the left, the faster the car will accelerate. If I am correct in my understanding, what would the benefit of having a second gear that is higher than first be? via /r/cars http://ift.tt/2tQsPp4