I Learned The Coolest Thing On NPR Yesterday

Where was this information when I was in 2nd grade?!?!?!

Yesterday as I was driving home from work, I heard someone describe a shortcut to calculating the 9 times table using his fingers. I would have posted this yesterday but I had to hold auditions first to find just the perfect hand model, LOL.

Let's get started!

OK, you start with all your fingers outstretched and work from left to right - just like you read. For 1 times 9 you would bend your first finger (your little finger on your left hand) to represent one and you are left with 9 fingers (1 x 9 = 9). Now that may not sound impressive but loook below as we do other calculations from the 9 times multiplication table.

Now let's do 9 x 2 which we all know is 18. So, you bend finger #2 (ring finger on left hand because we are going left to right) and see what is left. You have a 1 to the left of the bent finger and 8 to the right. Put them together and you have 18. (Nine times two is 18. )

The next example is 9 x 3. Again starting at left side, bend down finger #3. This leaves 2 on the left of the bent finger and 7 to the right or 27. Three times nine is twenty seven. This is cool, eh?

Bending 4 and leaving 3 and 6 or 36 for nine times four.............

And bending finger #5 leaves 4 and 5 or 45. You can continue this exercise with 6, 7, 8, & 9 and it works everytime. I just may be the last person in the world to learn this but I think it is just the coolest thing!

A round of applause for my Dad's hand modeling performance. {{{clap, clap}}} I believe he may have missed his calling. Ot, who knows, he may have found a second career!