The Daily Texan – Austin TX
By Destinee Hodge

Multitasking has taken on an entirely new meaning for one UT student who can recite the first 100 digits of the mathematical constant pi while solving a Rubik’s Cube and balancing 15 books on her head.

Lauren Moore, a liberal arts honors and philosophy freshman, performed her unique talent on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Friday, which was also her birthday.

“It’s really not that interesting of a story,” Moore said. “In high school, in one of my math classes, there was a poster on one of the walls with pi around the edges. I’d be doing my homework and said, ‘I could actually memorize pi,’ so that’s how I got to 100 digits.”

She acquired her Rubik’s Cube skill during her sophomore year at Cypress Community Christian School in Houston when one of her friends taught her a fast way to complete the puzzle.

“The fastest I’ve solved it is in 40 or 50 seconds,” she said.

The book-balancing came more recently. Two summers ago, while with her church youth group, Moore realized that she could balance multiple books while doing other tasks.

“I was with my church youth group a lot, and I was always balancing Bibles on my head,” she said. “So, it just kind of happened.”

Although Moore has been able to do each component of her trick for a few years, it was not until last summer that she combined all three elements.

“We did a talent show and thought, ‘Hey, I should do all three of these things I can do at the same time,’” she said. “So I did it, and everyone knew me as this crazy girl who could balance books on her head.”

Moore has balanced 21 books without the other tricks and 16 in conjunction with reciting pi and solving a Rubik’s Cube. The books she uses varies from textbooks and novels to children’s books.

As for the Rubik’s Cube, Moore usually solves it completely in two minutes. A video of her doing the trick is on YouTube.

“In the [YouTube] video, I have it about halfway solved so that I’ll finish solving it at the same time I finish reciting pi,” she said.

Moore said her video has gone viral, and the response from her internet audience has been substantial. At press time, her video had 447,273 views.

“There are pretty much three categories of comments,” she said. “‘Marry me,’ ‘You’re faking’ or something really disgusting that I can’t repeat.”

Moore was confirmed in November in the Universal Record database as the first and only person to do all three things in about 30 seconds. She also earned first place in the Liberal Arts Honors Talent Show.

As for other hidden talents, Moore is not lacking.

“I have an excellent chameleon impression,” she said, as she moved her eyes in different directions individually.

Even though combining the three skills demands balance and poise, Moore claimed that those are not two of her most prominent qualities.

“People assume that just because I can do this that I’m coordinated,” she said. “But I’m actually wildly clumsy.”