Mrs. Wilson decided to kick off the day with some simple math word problems but she soon found out she was walking into a trap.
“Alright children, let’s get those thinking caps on,” Mrs. Wilson began in a warm but firm teacher voice. “Johnny, I have a question for you.”
Johnny, a rambunctious 8-year-old with a mop of blond hair, looked up eagerly.
“If I gave you 2 cats and then I gave you another 2 cats, and then another 2 cats, how many cats would you have in total?”
Johnny furrowed his brow and did some silent calculations with his fingers for a few seconds before replying:
“Seven!”
Mrs. Wilson shook her head. “No no, listen carefully Johnny. If I gave you two cats, and then another two cats, and then another two cats, how many would you have?”
“Seven!” Johnny repeated confidently.
Starting to get flustered, Mrs. Wilson decided to try a different tactic.
“Okay, let me put it this way. If I gave you two apples, and then another two apples, and then another two apples, how many apples would you have?”
Johnny barely had to think. “Six!”
“Good!” Mrs. Wilson said with a smile. “Now, if I gave you two cats, and another two cats, and another two, how many cats would you have?”
Johnny grinned mischievously. “Seven!”
Mrs. Wilson was officially perplexed. “Johnny! Where in the world are you getting seven from?”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Johnny retorted:.
“Because I already have one cat at home!”
