Last month's Family Ties puzzle was a collection of three
riddles all dealing with the relationships between relatives. The riddles
and their solutions follow.
1. Sisters and brothers have I none, but that man's father is
my father's son. How is this possible?
The solution to this riddle is that there are three men present:
a grandfather, a father, and a son. The father is talking and pointing
to the son when he says that man's father (which is himself) is my
father's (referring to the grandfather) son (which is himself). (My
head still spins every time I try and think through this riddle!)
2. Two mothers and two daughters went shopping. Each mother and
daughter bought a new purse, yet they only purchased three purses.
How is this possible?
There are three people (grandmother, mother, and daughter) two of
whom play dual roles (grandmother and mother are both mothers — mother
and daughter are both daughters).
3. A few minutes after a banker dropped off his son at a day
care a fire broke out. The son was trapped in a back room while the
workers and all the other children escaped. When the firefighters
arrived, one of them looked at all the children and then exclaimed,
" My son is still in there — I must go in and
get him out!" How is this possible?
The firefighter is the boy's mother.
Return to Solutions.