Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
James Rodger

Trickiest Countdown maths rounds - which were unbelievably solved in 30 seconds

Countdown is a national treasure, and has thrilled us with thousands of episodes ever since its debut in the 1980s.

The programme is renowned as one of the toughest quizzes out there - particularly the maths round.

Over the years, Channel 4 viewers have tuned in as Countdown hosts Carol Vorderman and Rachel Riley give us head-scratching maths problems.

But some of the Countdown rounds have been solved - somewhat unbelievably - within moments.

In fact, some of the trickiest and toughest rounds posed to those competing have ended in a record time of under 30 seconds.

Below are some of the toughest we've seen over the years - and the players responsible for getting to a solution.

Carol is impressed (Channel 4)

'Maths wizard'

James had 30 seconds to use the numbers 25, 50, 75, 100, 3, and 6 to calculate how to get as close to 952 as possible.

Here's how he did it:

100 + 6 = 106

106 x 3 = 318

318 x 75 = 23,850

23,850-50 =23,800

23,800/25

=

952

'Terrific' George

In October 2014, George was tasked with using 1, 2, 25 and 100, as well as 75 and 50, to get to 940.

George managed it by doing:

75 x 25 = 1875

He then added one for 1876, before multiplying by 50 for 93800, and divided by 100 to give 938, before adding 2.

"Well done!" exclaimed Rachel Riley.

"Terrific George," said Nick Hewer.

'Where did we find this guy?'

To get 813, Carol tasked two contestants with using 1, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100.

John said he had 813, using:

75 - 10 = 65

65 x 25 = 1625

1625 + 1 = 1626

1626 x 50 = 81300

81300 divided by 100 = 813

"Where did we find this guy?" asked Richard Whiteley.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.