This brain teaser is a fun battle between English and math. It isn’t like a normal word problem from math class, however. This one is meant to bend your brain and make you think.
It’s easy to get the answer wrong even if you’re paying close attention when you read the riddle.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE CORRECT SOLUTION?
The answer to the riddle is five.
Did you get it right?
If you got it wrong, keep reading, and we’ll explain how we got an answer of five.
LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
Here’s the riddle again:
“One rabbit saw six elephants while going to the river. Every elephant saw two monkeys going toward the river. Every monkey holds one parrot in its hands.”
So, how many animals are going toward the river?
Upon first reading, most people think that the answer is 25.
This makes sense if you are reading the riddle quickly. However, there is a tricky bit of wording that you have to pay attention to.
In the next section, we will explain the trick so that you can see how we got the right answer.
IT’S ALL IN HOW YOU SAY IT
The key to this riddle is this sentence: “Every elephant saw two monkeys going toward the river.”
At first glance, you probably thought that it meant six elephants each saw two monkeys, which would give you 12 monkeys and 12 parrots, since each monkey was carrying one parrot.
However, the correct way to read that line is that every elephant saw the same two monkeys heading toward the river.
This means that only these animals are going toward the river:
– One rabbit
– Two monkeys
– Two parrots
Some people might argue that parrots are technically birds and not animals, so if your first answer was 3, that would also be correct.
What do you think? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
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I think it’s seven. The each monkey was holding a parrot in each of their hands. They got two hands so that bumps your five to seven
What is a Website?
I too said 3 i6 did6 count the birds as animals but it was cute.
I say 4 because the monkeys are holding the same parrot
The Answer is 2. It’s a play on words and math. TOWARDS THE RIVER!! Not TO the river! The rabbit is going TO the river not TOWARDS. The elephants ate even stated that they’re going anywhere. The Monkey (which is a SINGLE animal) is going TOWARDS the river and holding a Parrot (which is also a SINGLE animal). So how many animals are going TOWARDS the river. 2 – Monkeys and Parrots!
You can’t count the rabbit because although the rabbit is “going to the river”, it does not state that the rabbit is going “towards the river” at the time of the story telling… the only animals going “towards the river” in the description of the riddle are the “2 monkeys carrying 1 Parrot in their hands”. Of course birds are animals so if you make the assumption that the elephants all saw the same 2 monkeys then the smallest number is 4, but you have no information as to whether the elephants are travelling together, which way they were travelling (they may have been going towards the river as well), nor whether they saw all the same 2 monkeys… The answer is then indeterminable without more information
Actually, the rabbit is going “to” the river not “toward” the river. These are different prepositions. If this is a play on grammar, then only the 2 monkeys are going “toward” the river.
Also, the parrots are just stationary in the hands of the monkeys so they are not going toward anything.
There is a difference in going to and goin towards. Going to is a destination. Going towards is a direction. The question is how many animals are going toward the river?
It’s four.
(1)One rabbit while heading to the river.
Saw six elephants, those six elephants saw two monkeys headed to the river (2). It did not say each elephant saw two different monkeys. They all saw the same two monkeys.
Each monkey held one parrot in their hands. (1). There again , it did not say each monkey held a different parrot in their hand. The two monkeys could be holding the same parrot.
1 rabbit, 2 monkeys, 1 parrot. 4 total animals. And yes parrots are birds. Birds are animals. They aren’t plants and they aren’t minerals.
So for a minimum for the statement to be true, (four) Maximum? Each elephant saw two different monkeys, each monkey carried a different parrot, and the elephants were headed to the river, not the rabbit. (30).
birds are, in fact animals. They are not however, mammals
I actually think it is 2, the two monkeys. 1rabbit going TO the river, sees 6 elephants who see 2 monkeys going TOWARD the river hiding birds. How many animals going TOWARD the river. Bunny GOING TO not going TOWARD. Elephants were only seen, birds not counted as animals. Two monkeys going TOWARD seems right if it’s a math and English question.
It’s 4 because the rabbit is not going “toward” the river, the rabbit is going “to” the river.
2 monkey
2 parrots
If every elephant sees the same two monkeys, and every monkey holds 1 parrot in their hands, that would be only 1 parrot. Both monkeys are holding the same parrot.
THE ANSWER IS 7. RABBIT WENT TO RIVER. SIX ELEPHANTS ALSO WENT TO RIVER. WHILE EN ROUTE, THEY OBSERVED MONKEYS WITH PARROTS BUT THEY DID NOT GO TO RIVER.
4. 2 monkeys and 2 parrots going “towards” the river. People say 5 to include the rabbit but the rabbit is going “to” the river not “towards” the river. The question is how many animals are going “towards” the river. An parrots (birds) are listed under the animal kingdom.
None of the 5 members of the Animals were going to the river.