Russian Peasant Multiplication January 26, 2012 Ogilvy and Andersen, in their excellent book Excursions in Number Theory , recount the true story of an Austrian colonel who wanted to buy seven bulls in a remote part of Ethiopia some sixty or so years ago. Although the price of a single bull was set at 22 Maria Theresa dollars, no one present could work out the total cost of the seven bulls — and the peasants, being peasants, didn’t trust the would-be buyer to do the calculation himself. Eventually the priest of a neighbouring village and his helper were called in.
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