A lot of hoo haa is going around at the moment regarding an 11 year old lad outwitting Carol Vorderman on an episode of Countdown recently. I’m not going to link to the article, as every article I’ve seen has a link to what I’m going to say next, but here’s an image of him – Mr. Bradley Cates.
For the foreign audience, Countdown is a British mid-afternoon game show popular amongst students, grannies and the unemployable, which has a few word games (you get 9 letters, and make as big a word as possible) and a few number games. The number game involves 6 numbers (small numbers being 1-10 and large numbers being 25, 50, 75 and 100), and you have to use those 6 numbers to make a big randomly generated number. The massive press coverage at the moment relates to Mr. Cates managing to answer the puzzle, and the resident mathelete Carol Vorderman (right), couldn’t.
Anywho, this was the puzzle. Using the numbers 2, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 100 – make 566. Their hailing this kid to be a genius, I’m not so sure. No disresepect to the kid, but I got it in 30 seconds. I think Carol Vorderman is getting a bit stupider now, must be all those loan adverts she’s doing.
Or maybe it’s just me and him are – to quote Jose Mourinho – “Special Ones”. Can you solve it? E-mail the answer to iamsmarterthancarolvorderman@gospelrhys.co.uk remember to show your working – rather than posting a comment (you can post a boasting comment in the box, to claim your intellectual superiority), and I’ll tell you if you’re right or not.
EDIT: After MrManuel’s solution, I should also point out something. You’re only allowed addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Though I’m willing to let that slide if you (Rick, it’s you’re general direction I’m looking in) are able to use as many complex maths functions (sines, cosecant, integrals, imaginary numbers) as possible too. You can put your over complicated answers in the comment box.
If you have heard the story, please don’t be an arse and google it. You’re only cheating yourself.
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Comments: 12 Comments
Rhys Wynne, the author of this blog, is a 20 something web designer from Colwyn Bay. 
I dont watch countdown :S
meh, those loan adverts are gonna kill me! I hate them! I know the number for lombard direct OFF BY HEART! grrrrrr, least that ones a tasteful advert!
I cant do the maths problem :S…..I’m in essay mode..ne?
Answer sent. That was fun! I would love a show like that here. I do problems like that in my head all the time. Yeah weird…
Question, rhys.
Can you use each number only once?
Oh, and do you have to use them all?
I think you see where I am going with this…
Yeah, I got it after about 10 mins( I was multitasking).
To be fair, it was tricky, by countdown standards, but not silly difficult.
I’m not going to e-mail it you, because, well, I can’t be bothered, but it is correct, and is probably the same method you used.
Any by the way, I didn’t use any of that fancy crap, I used addition, subtraction, and multiplication (and brackets if you are being pedantic, but you’re allowed them as well).
Yeah, I got it after about 10 mins (I was multitasking).
To be fair, it was tricky, by countdown standards, but not silly difficult.
I’m not going to e-mail it you, because, well, I can’t be bothered, but it is correct, and is probably the same method you used.
Any by the way, I didn’t use any of that fancy crap, I used addition, subtraction, and multiplication (and brackets if you are being pedantic, but you’re allowed them as well).
Too easy bro, too easy
I dunno, i leave you kids alone for a couple of months, and what happens? You get a jackpot on DOND and Des O’fucking connor jumps into the countdown chair. Bring back richard whitely i say……
I hate maths. I just have no mathematical talent at all.
Right, you’ve had long enough.
9-2 = 7
5*100 = 500
7*10 = 70
500+70-4 = 566
Simple really. Obviously too much trouble for Vorderman.
lol I did it differently
5*100=500
9+2=11
10-4=6
11*6+500=566
Manuel sent a different way to us two. The point is, there are multitude of different ways, and Ms. Vorderman didn’t get one of them!
I did it a different way as well. Mine was better. Like, 566 times better.
I came across these comments when looking for something else, and yes, I do know they are old. Anyway, I think if you’re going to criticise Carol Voderman then you should at least have got your grammar correct!
You stated … ” Their hailing this kid to be a genius “…..surely you know it should be …they’re hailing this kid to be a genius
I’m sure Vorderman would say touché !