With Taskmaster returning with a new series this week, a clip featuring show stalwart Alex Horne has blown fans away… and has also impressed fellow host Greg Davies.
It’s obvious that Horne is more than just a funny comedian. He can also do some quick mental maths.
Despite Alex not being a maths major, he did study classics at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge. He was a contestant for Countdown 2008, where he appeared on four episodes.
In the clip, he is referred to as the “human calculator” as he works out the sum of random numbers being shouted at him by the other contestants.
He was joined by comedians Jamali Maddix and Lee Mack, Mike Wozniak, Sarah Kendall and Sarah Kendall. They put their mathematical skills to the test.
Greg Davies pulled out a calculator to verify his math skills. To everyone’s delight, he was able to do it exactly.
The sum was as follows:
13,243 + 8,000 ÷ 20 + 1
Do you think you know the answer? It may look simple, but it’s quite impressive considering that the numbers were given to him in rapid succession without any writing.
In the clip, Greg said: “Before you give me the answer, take your earpiece out”, insinuating the comedian would struggle with the sum.
But Alex Horne was very confident in his answer of “13,644” which stunned Greg into silence.
The crowd cheered, and other contestants seemed a bit flabbergasted but impressed.
Greg concluded by jokingly saying: “That’s genuinely the best thing you’ve ever done, and I don’t mean on this show.”
(Image: Getty Images for Comedy Central)
Some viewers were impressed with his skills, but others weren’t so easily convinced.
One YouTube user commented: “If only Greg would have asked for proof of the Riemann hypothesis.”
Another user said: “His little brain must be so full with the entirety of maths.”