The Misleading Movie Goers Riddle: Decoding the Correct Answer

One of the most confusing riddles involves a couple with multiple children attending a movie. Often, people are misled by the presence of the children and their details, leading to incorrect answers. Let's decode the riddle and understand why the answer is 2.

The Riddle

A couple who have 4 daughters went to the movies. Each daughter has two brothers. Each brother has 9 kids. In total how many people went to the movies?

The Common Misinterpretation

Assumption 1

Many people seem to believe that the answer is 86 people. This is a plausible assumption since it considers the couple, their 4 daughters, 5 sons (one son per daughter), and the 9 kids of each of the 5 sons. However, this interpretation ignores the specific wording of the riddle.

Assumption 2

Another common answer is just 2, which is the couple who went to the movies. This interpretation is correct if the riddle is strictly interpreted as asking how many people went to the movies.

The Correct Answer

According to the riddle, the answer is 2—it is explicitly stated that a couple went to the movies, not their children or grandchildren. If it was asking about the total number of people, the answer would be vastly different. However, the question clearly specifies the number of people who went to the movies, which is only the couple.

Additional Context and Considerations

It's also worth noting that during a pandemic, theaters might be closed, making the number of people going to the movies irrelevant. The riddle itself does not specify the current state of the theaters, so it is accurate to say that just 2 went to the movies based on the riddle's wording.

Logical Reasoning

The logical reasoning behind this riddle is based on the careful reading and understanding of the question. It is a classic example of a problem that can be misinterpreted due to the inclusion of distracting details. The key is to focus on the specific question asked, which in this case is how many people went to the movies.

Conclusion

The correct answer to the riddle is 2, as the couple who went to the movies is the only group explicitly mentioned. Whether they were the only ones or if the entire family was present, the riddle only asks about those who went to the movies. This riddle serves as a reminder to carefully read and interpret instructions when solving problems or answering questions.

Additional Resources and Further Reading

To further explore riddles and logical reasoning, you can check out other popular puzzles and brain teasers. Websites like Nigel Coldwell's Puzzles and Riddles offer a wide range of puzzles and riddles to challenge your logical thinking and problem-solving skills.