The math riddle has gone viral and there are people all over the world talking about it; some solved it, but it seems many have not. The question is from the Singapore and Asian School Math Olympiads (SASMO) and sometime after it was given on April 8, a local DJ posted it on Facebook and it’s taken off from there.
This is the question (warning, trying to solve it is both difficult and addictive):
Albert and Bernard just met Cheryl. “When’s your birthday?” Albert asked Cheryl. Cheryl thought a second and said, “I’m not going to tell you, but I’ll give you some clues.” She wrote down a list of 10 dates:
May 15 — May 16 — May 19
June 17 — June 18
July 14 — July 16
August 14 — August 15 — August 17
“My birthday is one of these,” she said. Then Cheryl whispered in Albert’s ear the month — and only the month — of her birthday. To Bernard, she whispered the day, and only the day.
“Can you figure it out now?” Cheryl asked Albert.
Albert: I don’t know when your birthday is, but I know Bernard doesn’t know, either.
Bernard: I didn’t know originally, but now I do.
Albert: Well, now I know, too!
When is Cheryl’s birthday?
That’s it. The math riddle that’s taken social media by storm. Got it? Don’t ask me, I tried and managed to eliminate some dates but then came to a dead end. For a flicker of a moment I thought the answer might be ‘today’ but not only would that be too easy – it doesn’t make sense.
There is an answer and an explanation, right here. I haven’t looked because I’m not giving up just yet. However, before too long I’ll have to get on with my…hey, wait…hold on, yup – I got it.
Seems easy now!
