By using some simple properties of numbers it is quite possible for a mathematician to convince people that they possess psychic powers! Here is a simple example.
The sum of the digits of any number less than 10 that has been multiplied by 9 is 9 (e.g. 18, 27, 36, 45 etc). So when you subtract 5 you get 4. This corresponds to the letter D. The most likely country that people can think of beginning with D is Denmark. The second letter of Denmark is E and the most likely animal that begins with an E is Elephant, which is grey.
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