A four-year-old boy from Shepshed, Leicestershire, has become an online sensation after solving the numbers game on Channel 4's Countdown in seconds. Acer Gibson's father, Liam Gibson, 36, posted videos of his son tackling the show's puzzles, which have been viewed more than 30 million times in just over two weeks.
In one clip, Acer calculates how to reach the target number 872 using the numbers 100, 75, 10, 7, 6, and 4 within 30 seconds. After solving it, he tells his father: 'Now let's see if they copied us.' Neither of the adult contestants on the show managed to get the answer in time.
The videos caught the attention of Rachel Riley, the Oxford maths graduate who presents the numbers round on Countdown. She sent Acer personal challenges, which he solved within the 30-second limit. Riley joked: 'I'll have to watch my back in a few years.'
Acer's parents noticed his potential early on. He could count from one to ten and back again at age one, memorised his parents' phone numbers by age two, and was writing square roots of numbers like 196 at age three. He now works through maths books designed for children up to age ten.
When asked about his future plans, Acer said: 'Actually I want to do the numbers on the Countdown show. Yeah, I want Rachel Riley's job.' His father Liam said: 'I wasn't expecting it to take off.'
