Quadratic

To warm up, ask the spectators a simple question:

If you divide 100 by 4, what do you get?

Naturally, they’ll say 25, which is absolutely correct.

But then, you throw them a curveball:

Did you know that 10 + 20 + 30 + 40 also equals 100?

There are countless ways to split a number, but dividing it into different sets like 10, 20, 30, and 40 is much trickier than a straight division. And speaking of tricky, here’s a fun fact: I currently hold the world record for splitting a completely random six-digit number into four different sets in under 30 seconds!

But today… we’re going bigger.

I’m about to break my own record!

You turn to a spectator and ask them to name any six-digit number.

Let’s say they say:

349,529

You nod, but then up the ante.

Let’s make this even harder.

I’m going to add a single digit to the front, making it a seven-digit number:

1,349,529.

And just to make things more exciting, I’m going to divide this monster number into four different sets in less than 30 seconds!

You hand a stopwatch to a spectator.

On your marks… get set… GO!

With speed and precision, you start scribbling numbers furiously on a whiteboard, your hand moving at lightning speed.

STOP!

you announce, finishing with a dramatic flourish. The spectator checks the timer, 22 seconds.

You step back and look at the audience. Now, let’s see if I got it right.

You cover the original number (1,349,529) with a cloth and invite multiple spectators to add up the numbers you wrote:

281,979
391,981
437,151
238,418

They begin adding.

The suspense builds.

Some double-check.

Some triple-check.

Then, the moment of truth:

The total is 1,349,529.

You dramatically remove the cloth to reveal the original number and it is a perfect match!

A new world record.

The crowd erupts.

You take a bow.

Fastest quadratic division in the universe?