Riddle

[southerndog]

Two people A&B have the following conversation:

A: I can't remember the ages of your 3 children.

B: The product of their ages is 36..

A: That's not enough information, can you tell me more?

B: Sure, the sum of their ages is the same as your house number..

A: I still need more information.

B: The oldest one has red hair.

A: Thanks, now I know their ages..

What are the ages of B's children?

See if you can figure it out.. Ask questions if you like, but all the necessary information is there.

Dog..

[daryn]

the product of their ages is 36..

1*1*36, 1*2*18, 1*3*12, 1*4*9, 1*6*6, 2*2*9, 2*3*6, 3*3*4

the sum of their ages is the same as your house number, hmm

38, 21, 16, 14, 13, 13, 11, 10

ok, so if the guy still can't tell (i assume he knows his own house number) then the sum must be 13, since it's the only duplicate

so their ages are either 1, 6, 6, or 2, 2, 9

the oldest has red hair..

ok, so it's obviously 2, 2, and 9

correct?

[baggins]

"then the sum must be 13, since it's the only duplicate."

this makes no sense. what does the duplication have to do with a stranger's house number?

unless we know the house number, we don't have anything concrete to go on.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
"then the sum must be 13, since it's the only duplicate."

this makes no sense. what does the duplication have to do with a stranger's house number?

unless we know the house number, we don't have anything concrete to go on.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're missing something.

"A" knows his house number. So, when "B" tells him that the product is 36, the only reason A wouldn't automatically know the ages of all three children is if there are two or more possible combinations that equal his house number.

We don't need to know A's house number. We only need to know that A knows his own house number (which is an obvious assumption). So, when A figures out that all the possible sums are...

38, 21, 16, 14, 13, 13, 11, 10

...and A can't determine the ages, it must be because his house # is 13.

[NoChance]

The two possible solutions that add up to 13 are: 1*6*6 and 2*2*9.

If the oldest one has red hair then the answer must be 2*2*9. Can't be the other solution because the oldest would be twins.

[Homer]

Can't be the other solution because the oldest would be twins.

Not necessarily. They could be 6 yrs 11 months and 6 yrs 1 month, if the wife gave birth then got knocked up again immediately. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

-- Homer

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
If the oldest one has red hair then the answer must be 2*2*9. Can't be the other solution because the oldest would be twins.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not all twins are identical. There's no reason they can't have different color hair.

[baggins]

i see. thanks.

[daryn]

anyone can say anything about this.. i mean, you can say that out of 2 twins, one would HAVE to be older if only by minutes.. and even if they both had red hair, it would still be a correct statement to say , "the oldest has red hair"..

but then the riddle would be unsolvable..

SO, either it's unsolvable, or i solved it.

[Ray Zee]

most people that have red hair are irish. and most of their children would have red hair. so the mother cheats on her husband. i think it was the mailman.

[elwoodblues]

Then she kills her sister so the Irish mailman attends the funeral...man, these riddles are getting too easy.

[southerndog]

Good job, I knew you'd be on top of it..

I think you have to assume the ages are integer values, and two years 3 minutes is the same as two years , 20 minutes, otherwise, you wouldn't have just those factors and stuff..

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

Dog