# A totally freaky test **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 25, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895 "2009-11-25T11:40:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/21 "2009-11-25T16:45:26Z")
Yeh, it worked for me. But I wasn’t that surprised: The math is designed to always give you the number 4. From there, I’m guessing the most popular answer for a country that starts with D is Denmark. And of course, there aren’t many animals that start with K, or fruits that start with O. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/22 "2009-11-25T16:55:01Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Xigua. (It’s very much like a watermelon). but that’s just ‘watermelon’ in Mandarin! an ass in Dominica munching on a strawberry ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/23 "2009-11-25T17:00:53Z")
> [@El\_Nene](#): > > You’re not the only one. I’m actually amazed. x = first digit, y = second; the number is 10x + y, the digits added together are x + y, so what you calculate is 10x + y - (x + y) = 9x, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that there’s always the same symbol next to any number that’s a multiple of 9. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/24 "2009-11-25T17:04:13Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Well, this might have worked out _if I could add_. Because 2 + 7 is so totally 10, you guys. > > I ended up with an amoeba in Ethiopia eating an avocado. I thought you only subtracted five if you had added the digits together, so I was still at 9. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/25 "2009-11-25T17:04:23Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > Not that freaky. The digits of any number where 9 is a factor always add up to 9, so the country always starts with D. Everything else is a small matter of psychology. Yes. I saw this little trick on a magic television show when I was a child and figured out what they were doing. I think the only difference was they wanted me to think of an animal whose name begins with the letter ‘e.’ The “magician” then informed me that there were no elephants in Denmark. Even if I weren’t onto him, I didn’t say elephant. So there, stupid TV magician guy! A similar trick works for surreptitiously figuring out how many people your (non-slutty) friends have slept with. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/26 "2009-11-25T17:04:53Z")
> [@Aestivalis](#): > > I had an Ibex in Dubai eating a… What fruit starts with X? same. Accept Djibouti. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/27 "2009-11-25T17:17:11Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > You want creepy? Try the [Mystic Ball](http://www.bored.com/mysticalball/). It took me quite some time to figure it out. (Of course, now some Doper is going to make me feel stupid by saying how obvious it is). Not that I want to make you feel stupid, but… It’s actually even simpler. You’ll always end up with a multiple of nine for your answer; the website mixes up signs for different numbers, but if you look, all multiples of nine have the same sign. All the site has to do is show the sign for nine (and its multiples) that in the magic ball. Math explanation: If your tens digit is x and your ones digit is y, then your two digit number is 10_x + y, right? Add x and y together and you get x+y. Subtract the total of the digits from your original number and you get 10_x+y -(x+y) = 10_x + y -x -y = 9_x So the answer is always nine times something. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Nene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/da6949/32.png) [@El\_Nene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Nene)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/28 "2009-11-25T17:18:50Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > x = first digit, y = second; the number is 10x + y, the digits added together are x + y, so what you calculate is 10x + y - (x + y) = 9x, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that there’s always the same symbol next to any number that’s a multiple of 9. :smack: I didn’t notice that the symbols changed each time I clicked Try Again. Once I tried it without refreshing the board, the trick was obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/29 "2009-11-25T17:19:58Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > but that’s just ‘watermelon’ in Mandarin! Oh, I thought it was a type of watermelon. I’ve seen them here in Chinatown and they look rounder and darker. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/30 "2009-11-25T17:22:27Z")
There are no countries that start with W, as far as I can tell. If the thing wants you to think of an _integer_ between 1 and 10, it should say so. Anytime I’m told to think of a _number_ between 1 and 10, I think of pi. The rest of the thing sort of fell apart for me. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/31 "2009-11-25T17:26:03Z")
There’s always gotta be a wise ass. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/32 "2009-11-25T17:41:37Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Oh, I thought it was a type of watermelon. I’ve seen them here in Chinatown and they look rounder and darker. don’t know, maybe a different type of watermelon? an iguana in dubai staring at an avocado ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/33 "2009-11-25T17:45:57Z")
I had Denmark, but a Killer Whale - then because I couldn’t think of an “E” fruit I cheated and used Elderberry. ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/34 "2009-11-25T17:58:38Z")
Heh, I had a an ignauna in Djibouti eating an apple… I sort of figured it out before the end, I knew about the trick making the number 4 every time (I’ve seen the same trick before) and I figured there are not really very many countries starting with D… and most of them your average american (or probably person from any western country) would not have heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/35 "2009-11-26T02:36:45Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > You want creepy? Try the [Mystic Ball](http://www.bored.com/mysticalball/). It took me quite some time to figure it out. (Of course, now some Doper is going to make me feel stupid by saying how obvious it is). Once you do it twice it becomes obvious. No matter what number you think of it has the same symbol. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/36 "2009-11-26T03:14:08Z")
Komodo Dragon in Denmark eating a Naranjilla. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/37 "2009-11-26T03:28:39Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Koala in Denmark eating an apple. \ Same. It’s like the test takes for granted that there’s no country besides Denmark that starts with a D. (And that no animal besides the Kangaroo starts with a K, but that’s secondary; it goes out the window if you pick a different country.) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/38 "2009-11-26T05:48:17Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Koala in Denmark eating an apple. \ Me too. Everyone knows there aren’t any kangaroos or oranges in Denmark. And that koala is going to die anyway because they only eat eucalyptus leaves. That will leave something rotten in Denmark. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/39 "2009-11-26T05:52:39Z")
Dingo in Deutschland eating an orange. ---
**Author:** ![Taenia\_spp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Taenia\_spp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taenia_spp)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895/40 "2009-11-26T06:11:08Z")
I also came up with Djibouti, but I chose Ichthyosaur for the animal. I couldn’t quite think of a fruit that started with R, so I just chose radish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-totally-freaky-test/518895.md?page=3)