How Liam Delap is able to work out cube roots quickly and look like a maths genius, and the simple trick you can learn to do it yourself

"Liam Delap has an interesting party trick that you wouldn't really expect a footballer to pull out of the bag. The Chelsea forward has gone on video a few times showing off his bizarre mathematical ability to quickly calculate the cube roots of large numbers."

"A cube number is the result of multiplying a number by itself twice. So, for instance, 2 cubed is 8 because 2 x 2 x 2 = 8, while 5 cubed is 5 x 5 x 5 = 125. The cube root is the same thing but in reverse - so the cube root of 8 is 2, and the cube root of 125 is 5."

"Delap's only condition is that the cube number you give him has to be the cube of a number between 1 and 100. He has been coy about how he does it, merely saying that it was a trick that his maths teacher taught him at school and which he has never forgotten."

"Delap's only condition is that the cube number you give him has to be the cube of a number between 1 and 100. Delap has made himself look like a maths genius, but all you need is two straightforward memory tricks and ten numbers."

Liam Delap, a Chelsea footballer, possesses a remarkable mathematical ability to rapidly calculate cube roots of large numbers, a skill he has showcased multiple times on video. His talent involves finding the cube root of numbers that are cubes of integers between 1 and 100. Delap learned this technique from his school mathematics teacher and has retained it throughout his life. The method relies on two straightforward memory tricks and memorization of ten specific numbers. When given a number like 148,877, Delap can immediately determine its cube root is 53 by applying these techniques to identify the first and second digits of the answer sequentially.

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