Human Calculator Impresses New WIBX Personality

Human Calculator Scott Flansburg, who's a native of Herkimer, was in-studio on Wednesday morning talking about his journey to prove to the world that basketball was invented in his hometown.

It's a real quest, and there's actual convincing evidence that the basketball community in Springfield at some point is going to have to acknowledge.

Flansburg is running his Herkimer 9 organization out of the former historic Quackenbush building on North Main Street in the village, a building that was home to inventor and industrialist H. M. Quackenbush (1847 -1933) who gave us things like the nut cracker, air rifles and even the extension ladder during his life in Herkimer.

This fall, Flansburg will go back on the road to travel the world as the Human Calculator, where he serves as a mathematics ambassador. Flansburg, who has close ties to rocker Alice Cooper, has done shows like Oprah, Today, Good Morning America, Joan Rivers, The Ellen Show, USA Today, BBC breakfast, ESPN, History Channel and countless others, showing off his Guinness World Record talents as the fastest calculator in the world, even faster than a person using a calculator.

He showed off his talents Wednesday in front of new Townsquare Brand Manager Megan Duley, as she (armed with a calculator) attempted to keep up with him as he added three-digit numbers.

Flansburg holds the Guinness World Record Holder for the ‘fastest mental calculation’ after adding the same number to itself 36 times in 15 seconds. He is also an annual host and founder of The National Counting Bee, a fast-paced annual competition to find the fastest human counters.

Flansburg explained that he discovered his mental calculation ability at the age of 9 when his math teacher asked him to add four numbers. He can mentally add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers with the accuracy of the calculator naturally. In 1990, he started using his talents in the education and entertainment industry. To date, he has published books like Math Magic and Math Magic For Your Kids.

Watch and listen as Flansburg wows the newbie at WIBX, with math skills that are faster than AI.