Somebody did this trick to me when I was 11, and it blew my mind:
- Think of any number from one to 10.
- When you have it, multiply it by 9.
- If it’s a two-digit number, add them together.
- Now, subtract 5 from the number in your head.
- Now, think of the letter in the alphabet that corresponds with the number you are thinking about. For instance, if you are thinking of the number “ONE”, it would be “A”. Number “TWO” would be “B”. “THREE” is “C”, and so on.
- Now, think of a country that starts with the letter you’re thinking of. Spell the country in your head. [Pause here.]
- Think about the second letter in that country’s name. Now, quickly think of an animal who’s name begins with that letter.
- Now, think of the animal’s color.
Now for the kicker…Dude, there totally aren’t any gray elephants in Denmark! Aw, snap! How the hell did I do that? Is Nunc Scio magic? Have I made a faustian bargain to gain my amazing Scandinavian pachyderm prediction abilities?
At any rate, this is a long way of saying that Denmark is now, officially, the happiest country on the planet. I blame the excellent pastries.
Ha, it helps that the sum of the digits of the product of 9 and any number between 1 and 10 is always 9. And that there are only 4 countries beginning with the letter D (and only 2 that you’ve heard of).
Ha! Love that trick. I’m using it on all my friends TODAY.