During the COVID-19 lockdowns, a lot of people have been turning to online riddles and puzzles to challenge themselves and their friends. The latest riddle to go viral on social media is “a boy was playing with a book” riddle, sometimes called “my son was playing with a book.”
The riddle asks: A boy was playing with a book and tore out the pages 7, 8, 100, 101, 222 and 223. How many pages did he tear out?
This riddle has been trending on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. If you’re ready to find out the answer, keep reading.
The Viral ‘A Boy Was Playing With a Book’ Riddle Answer & Explanation
The first instinct would be to assume that the boy tore out 6 different pages, but it’s a little more complex than that. In a book, there are actually two numbered pages on each sheet of paper. The pages are printed on both sides, and each one has an odd and an even number. The odd pages will almost always be on the right hand side while the even pages will be on the left hand side. Therefore, the first page in a book will actually be numbered 1-2 and the second page will be numbered 3-4, on and on.
When reading the riddle, we can see that the boy ripped out pages 7 and 8, which are actually both sides of the same page. He then ripped out 99-100 and 101-102 which are the second and third pages he ripped out. 221-222 is the fourth page the boy ripped out and 223-224 is the fifth page. The answer is that the boy ripped out 5 pages.
The Riddle Has Caused a Lot of Confusion & Stumped Many People
While a lot of people think the answer is 6, which is wrong, some people think it’s 3. Because there are three sets of sequential numbers, people have assumed that 7-8 is the same page, 100-101 is the same page and 222-223 is the same page. However, because a page has the odd number on the first side and the even number on the back side, 100-101 cannot be on the same page, nor can 222-223. Only 7-8 are actually on the same page, which means the answer is 5.
It’s not the first riddle to cause a lot of confusion. Many riddles have gone viral since the COVID-19 lockdowns began. In one riddle, the question is: “At a four legged table, there are 1 grandma, 2 moms, 2 daughters and a granddaughter. How many legs are under the table?”
This riddle has caused some confusion, with people saying the answer is 10 or 16. The correct answer is 10. Because of the family dynamic of the people at the table, there are actually only 3 people sitting there: a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughter. Those three people meet the criteria for the riddle, meaning there are only 3 people at the table, not 6.
Those people have two legs each, so there are 6 human legs at the table. The four legged table also has four legs under the table, which means there are a total of 10 legs under the table.
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