Grey Elephant in Denmark Mind Reading Trick Explained!

Grey Elephant in Denmark

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The Grey Elephant in Denmark Mind Reading Trick is a mind-reading trick that involves a series of directions that guide the subject to a desired thought without them even realizing what is happening. This trick illustrates a common method within Mentalism. One subconsciously guides the subject to an answer, all the while the mentalist knows that he is actually directing their thought pattern.

This trick is straightforward and popular among seasoned mentalists and beginners. So, let’s look at this trick, and you can perform it in front of friends and family for practice.

Step by Step

First Step: Think of any number between 1 and 9 in your mind.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Let’s suppose it is “7.”

Second Step: Multiply this number by 2

7 x 2 = 14

Third Step: Add 8 to the number you got from your previous calculations

14 + 8 = 22

Forth Step: Divide that number by 2

22 / 2 = 11

Fifth Step: Subtract the number you have though first time (original number) from your answer above

11 – 7 (see the first step) = 4

Sixth Step: Now match this number with the corresponding letter of the alphabet.

          A      B      C      D      E      F      G      H      I           

1      2       3       4       5      6      7       8      9 

You could see 4 matches with D.

Seventh Step: Think of any country that starts with that letter.

AustraliaDenmarkGermanyJapan
BrazilEgyptHaiti Kenya
ChinaFranceIndiaLatvia

Let’s pick up D for Denmark. 

Eight Step: Skip that letter of the alphabet and take the next one.

In our case, we skip the letter D and consider the letter next to D, i.e., “E.”

Ninth Step: Think of an animal that starts with that letter

AlligatorElephantHorseKangaroo
BuffaloFoxIbexLion
CatGiraffeJaguarMouse

The first animal that comes to my mind for the alphabet “D” is “Elephant.”

Tenth Step: Think of the color of that animal

That’s grey.

So you should have an animal, a color, and a country.

That’s it! The only chance the trick won’t work is if you mess up the calculation or think of

some strange country beginning with “D.”

Trick Explained:

The math computations you are going to do here are intended to confuse your mind. Basically, after all these calculations you'll get one answer, four.

Try it out yourself by thinking about different number and completing all the above ten steps. 

And then the alphabet that corresponds to it is D. When you are told to think of any country that begins with that letter, the first one that comes into most people's minds is Denmark. From there, you are advised to skip that letter and move to the next one, which leads you to the letter “E.”

Here you are told to think of an animal that begins with that letter. The first animal that comes to your mind is an elephant. When you consider its color, you get grey. In conclusion, you have a color (grey), an animal (elephant) and a country, Denmark. And you have yourself a grey elephant from Denmark.

Final Thoughts

When performing a trick like this it is important to have confidence. Confidence is a key characteristic of all great mentalists. They trust themselves and the methods they use. The Grey Elephant in Denmark trick will give you a foundational trick you can continue to use in your journey of mentalism.

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