No doubt some of you will have seen this before. Got sent it by email. Carry out this test. Just follow the instructions as quick as possible but do not carry on reading the following questions before you finish the previous one. You do not need to write the answers, just do it using your mind. You'll be overwhelmed by the result...keep scrolling down.

How much is :

15+6

3+56

89+2

12+53

75+26

25+52

63+32

I know! Calculations are hard work but this is the real thing!

Come on, a few more...

123+5

QUICK! THINK ABOUT A TOOL AND A COLOUR!

Scroll further to the bottom..

A bit more...

Just a little further...

You have just thought about a red hammer, haven't you????

If this is not the case you are among 2% of the people who have a "different" if not "abnormal" mind. 98% of the folks would answer a "red hammer" while doing this exercise. If you do not believe this, pass it around and you'll see.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Answers

bloody hell that worked!

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Uh-oh...I am officially abnormal! I picked a blue spanner....

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Come on ladies, own up. Who thought about a black *&%$ ??

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

A black what?

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Almost ......black screwdriver. But hey it's good to be different

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Well that 98% isn't looking very accurate as far as I can see.....not 1 person out of 10 at work picked red hammer....

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Gav tell us something we didn't already know! :o)

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Hmm...that leaves out me saying you're a pain in the arse then...

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

My hammer was orange

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

my mate at work picked a green drill......

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Must admit I picked red spanner!! Oh well looks like I'm normal after all!

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Blue hammer. Hmmm. 2%,eh?

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Red Hammer for me.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Hammer & red - I was amazed till I read everyone elses results

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

I picked a blue spanner same as Gav

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

I picked a blue spanner same as Gav, mind you me boss has just been in me office.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Howay Andy, be fair. Gav might be a bit of a spanner, but he ain't blue.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Blue hammer. So what is normal anyway? %-]

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

A spanner was the last tool I used ( at least out of a toolbox anyway) so could therefore be the tool most likely to come to mind first. Therefore a normal reaction. A lot of people remember the most recent things first.

Should I be refuting allogations of calling Gav a spanner, is he a regular at the gym.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

red and white monkey wrench for me.....

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

I got barred from all the gyms round here....took them ages to figure out that I was always just standing round perving....

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

The secret is to work out at the same time, mate, and to look all around in a generally bored manner when in mid-perv. Sadly, there is a real dearth of talent at Hexham.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

I'm with you in the blue hammer brigade Nik and Ciara!!

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

We must all be "different" and "abnormal".

I picked a pink tin opener, but I sort of knew it would be something like this so picked something obscure :)

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Paul - help is available if you find things getting too much for you to cope with.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Purple Chisel. And there's nowt wrong with Hexham. Apart from the mingers.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Yellow Spanner. But I am pissed.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

blue spanner. pile o cack really isn't it ? or a metaphor for life ?

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

which? the blue spanner or the pile o' cack? ;-)

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

"Life's a piece of s**t
when you look at it" - Life of Brian

Guess it's the latter :-)

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Tried it at work - 5 Red Hammers, 1 Orange Hammer, 1 Blue Hammer & a Red Trowel.

Does anybody know how this works ? (If at all)

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

There's a couple of others like this, I think one of them always ends up with grey elephant (mainly because you don't get a blue elephant) and another one where everyone thinks carrot.

I bet it would be different in other countries though.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

The grey elephant is obvious. You end up having to pick the colour grey and then think of an animal = elephant.

I can't see anything obvious here.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

Aye, the elephant one is very obvious. I've tried this one on a few people and out of about 20 only 2 said red hammer. No really strange answers either, some picked hammer but a different colour, others picked spanner, screwdriver, pliers. Only one picked Dremel Multi, which limits the colour part quite a bit.

Just out of interest, does anyone actually own a hammer that is red?

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002