Atha.
Buyer of mangoes, writer of novels, loser of suitcases and a key component in the newly formed innocent Glee Club, he also happens to be a master of mind game trickery.
On Monday morning, he had 180 people fall off their respective picnic benches/chairs/ping pong table in sheer amazement at the game he made us all play.
Rather than tell you about how mindblowing it was, you can experience it for yourself right this instant.
Just answer the questions below out loud very quickly (and don't cheat by looking at the end)
- What's 2 + 2?
- What's 4+ 4?
- What's 8+8?
- What's 16+16?
- What's the first vegetable you think of?
180 of us simultaneously chanted this vegetable
Did you get the same?
A.m.a.z.i.n.g
More mind wowery from Atha very soon.
well, maybe it does not work with the French? I answered potatoe...
Posted by: Cha | August 18, 2010 at 09:30 AM
nice try but what i had in mind is squash.
Posted by: warcraft gold | August 18, 2010 at 10:11 AM
Broccoli!
Also very good juiced :o)
Posted by: Jools | August 18, 2010 at 11:47 AM
I'm afraid I answered cauliflower! But hey I would be different!!
Posted by: Carlinson | August 18, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Me and Cha and of one mind - potato all the way.
Posted by: kate | August 18, 2010 at 11:49 AM
OMG.
Like Uri Gellar and the spoon 'cept waaay cooler.
Posted by: Stickytree | August 18, 2010 at 11:53 AM
I got carrot too!!!
Posted by: Amit | August 18, 2010 at 11:54 AM
I said cucumber but that's coz I'd just been thinking about them otherwise I probably would've said carrot because it's my fave veg!
Posted by: KT | August 18, 2010 at 12:02 PM
nah this is rubbish i got beetroot
Posted by: J | August 18, 2010 at 12:27 PM
CARROT.
Burn the witch!!!! (Don't really)
Posted by: Laura | August 18, 2010 at 12:31 PM
Whoops I didn't do it out loud and I said tomato, which isn't even a vegetable. Fail.
Posted by: landminecat | August 18, 2010 at 12:33 PM
Carrott as well, amazing!
Posted by: lorraine_p | August 18, 2010 at 12:39 PM
After saying banana and really it was vegetable and not fruit, I said courgette!
Posted by: Segolene | August 18, 2010 at 12:46 PM
AMAZING!!! I said carrot!
How bizzare!
Posted by: Rosie | August 18, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Carrot!! That is truly amazing.
Posted by: JS | August 18, 2010 at 01:02 PM
waaah I said courgette - whats that about? I hate courgettes!
Posted by: Shaz | August 18, 2010 at 01:09 PM
I've been doing this for years - about 14 years ago I sat with three other work buddies and got them all to say their answer at the same time. The looks on their faces were priceless!
Posted by: Marty | August 18, 2010 at 01:16 PM
I was even eating a carrot at the time!
Posted by: Anthony | August 18, 2010 at 01:18 PM
I said carrot. I did. I did. My face just dropped.
Posted by: Sarah | August 18, 2010 at 01:21 PM
i wanted to say something beginning with c, but my brain couldn't come up with anything fast enough so i just said 'c...c...ch...ch...cheese?'
lesson for life kids; dont mix jet lag with alcohol...
Posted by: becci | August 18, 2010 at 01:26 PM
I said carrot! Crummy O'Reilly!!
M
Posted by: M | August 18, 2010 at 01:30 PM
Sweetcorn ! Did anyone else say sweetcorn?
What is it with carrots? And what is it with those of us that said other veggies (or cheese for that matter - LOL)?
Answers on a postcard please
Posted by: Tilly | August 18, 2010 at 01:35 PM
weird. carrot 'twas indeed.
Posted by: Tineke | August 18, 2010 at 01:36 PM
All carrots in this office!
Posted by: Laura Goldsmith | August 18, 2010 at 01:36 PM
Yup, carrot for me too!
Posted by: Lauren | August 18, 2010 at 02:28 PM
I said zucchini...
(weird aussies...)
Posted by: Sarah | August 18, 2010 at 02:53 PM
Duh - I don't unnerstand.....wot wos the question ? and wot wos the answer ? 'ave I missed summfing
Posted by: Vee | August 18, 2010 at 03:34 PM
Courgette I'm afraid
Posted by: Stevo | August 18, 2010 at 03:52 PM
I said Tomato as well lol
Posted by: Christine Evans | August 18, 2010 at 04:24 PM
I struggled to think of one, but then.......carrot!
Posted by: Vikki | August 18, 2010 at 04:32 PM
PEAS, I was counting PEAS . . . :O)
Posted by: Sue | August 18, 2010 at 04:49 PM
Pea
Posted by: Sherry Taylor | August 18, 2010 at 06:37 PM
I didn't read it properly and said orange. Then saw it said vegetable and said carrot. Freaky.
Posted by: Rachel | August 18, 2010 at 08:17 PM
i got potato
Posted by: holly | August 18, 2010 at 08:22 PM
Beetroot for me.
Posted by: June Grindley | August 18, 2010 at 09:26 PM
so how did I get avocado????? - not a vagetable, not orrange?
Posted by: sarah | August 18, 2010 at 09:39 PM
I said cheese...that can't be right?!
Posted by: Robert | August 19, 2010 at 03:28 AM
Ummm..32 courgette? something didn't quite work in my brain too then! I'm guessing it plays on the association of 32 carat gold? Or is it actually the dark arts...?
Posted by: Katy | August 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Mango.
I said Mango.
Cos you'd said mango earlier on.
Then I felt stupid for not saying carrot. Then I realised mango is a fruit. (But at least it's the right colour.)
Posted by: Cloudyru | August 19, 2010 at 10:46 AM
Brocolli!!
His picture made me think of brocolli and it didn't change despite the numbers game :(
Possible theory: the B of Brocolli comes after the A of Atha?!
Posted by: Olivier Van hamme | August 19, 2010 at 04:03 PM
Oops, I said orange. Then I realised that, strictly speaking, it's not a vegetable. But the right colour? Maybe rather than ooooh, it's just oo.
Posted by: Fiona | August 19, 2010 at 08:47 PM
I thought of Brussel Sprout but then again i had to eat one for lunch even though i hate them!!
:)
Posted by: nina | August 20, 2010 at 10:23 AM
I said carrot! AWESOME.
Although tbh i think its just luck when someone says carrot :/
Posted by: bethany | August 20, 2010 at 11:10 PM
Also said Cheese... :/
I did think carrot, though. Talk about crossed wires!
Posted by: jonnyb | August 21, 2010 at 06:50 PM
Aubergine :(.
But it would be okay if that was the vegetable you had to eat for the rest of your life since I do like Aubergine.
And carrots come to think of it.
:)
Posted by: Becky | August 23, 2010 at 12:02 AM
I was skeptical about the game at first - but then I answered carrot and found out the rest of your office have too. Pretty amazing!
Posted by: Amelia | August 23, 2010 at 01:56 AM
Marrow... so close, but not quite right. Maybe my brain is wired slightly wrongly...
Posted by: Jude | September 01, 2010 at 05:42 PM
Cabbage but I hate cabbage (except raw, sliced or quickly stir fried in very small quantities)
Posted by: angel | September 16, 2010 at 11:29 AM
This is a well known phenomena(?) this sequence of numbers produces an orange flash of light in the brian!!!!
Posted by: Vera Douglas | December 16, 2010 at 04:46 PM
First, I said pineapple. Whoops. Then broccoli. Then I thought "huh?" and looked at the answer you had given, but didn't click on the link and so thought the words in red were what 180 people had said, i.e. they all chanted "this vegetable". Which freaked me out, and I concluded I must be not quite right for not thinking that, but then it eventually dawned on me and so now I feel like a right plonker. That was quite a boring anecdote really wasn't it. Sorry. Happy Christmas though! xxx
Posted by: Liz | December 16, 2010 at 11:42 PM
First thing I _said_ was carrot. But that was after I thought of lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cucumber in a split second (in pictures). Couldn't think of their names fast enough to say them so ended up saying carrot, the fifth veg I thought of! Weird...
Posted by: Leonie | December 17, 2010 at 08:51 AM
Guys,
For what it's worth:
tomato = fruit
potato = tuber
sweetcorn = cereal
cheese = dairy
Posted by: Atha | December 18, 2010 at 10:28 AM