Two Fathers
Puzzle. Two fathers gave money to their sons. The first father gave $200, and the second father gave $100. Yet the total amount received by the sons was only $200. How come?
Standard answer: There were three people: a son, his father, and his grandfather. The grandfather gave the father $200, and the father gave the son $100.
In many puzzles, my students come up with a surprising variety of alternative solutions—but not for this one. For many years of my teaching, this puzzle stayed untouched by new ideas. Perhaps the puzzle is simply too well known. But recently, I finally heard an alternative answer:
- The money was taxable.
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