mediumlogic

Illustration for riddle: As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Each wife had seven sacks
Each sack had seven — Can you figure out this riddle?

As I was going to St Ives I met a man with seven wives Each wife had seven sacks Each sack had seven cats Each cat had seven kits Kits, cats, sacks, wives How many were going to St. Ives?

Two different plausible answers: 1. I was the only one going to St. Ives, so only one. 2. Assume all were going to St. Ives: * Narrator: 1 * The man I met: 1 * The 7 Wives: 7 * Their Sacks: 49 (7 wives times 7 sacks per wife) * Cats in Sacks: 343 (49 sacks times 7 cats per sack) * Kittens per Cats: 2,401 (343 cats times 7 kittens per cat) So people, sacks, and cats summed up is 2,802.

Why this works

This riddle plays with the listener's assumptions and the structure of the narrative. At first glance, it seems to ask for a cumulative total of the people and animals, leading to a large number. However, the key detail is that the narrator only mentions meeting the man and his wives while on the way to St. Ives, implying that they may not actually be traveling there. Therefore, the clever twist lies in the ambiguity of who is truly "going" to St. Ives—suggesting that only the narrator is, which yields the more straightforward answer of one. It's a delightful exercise in critical thinking and wordplay!

Common Wrong Answers

“Seven”

This guess might come from misinterpreting the riddle's focus. While there are seven wives, only the narrator's journey to St. Ives matters. The wives, their sacks, cats, and kits are all mentioned but do not indicate they were traveling to St. Ives.

“49”

This answer likely comes from counting just the sacks (7 wives with 7 sacks each). However, it ignores the question about who is going to St. Ives, which is solely about the narrator, making the total count of those traveling far less than the number of sacks.

“343”

This number represents the total number of cats (7 wives times 7 cats each), but it overlooks the key aspect of the riddle. The question is not about the total number of animals or items but specifically about who is going to St. Ives, which only includes the narrator.

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