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Original poster

RIDDLE: don't look ahead to answer!! Used for student's research purposes

91 replies

Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 04:54

Once a father and his son were travelling in a car. The car gets in an accident. The father dies on the spot and the son is grievously injured. He is taken to the hospital and he needs an operation. The doctor sees him and refuses to work saying, "He is my son". How is this possible?

OP posts:
sunandbliss · 09/01/2023 07:08

I only heard of this in the last few years and when I came across it, I discussed it with a group of friends. None of them worked it out. We tried it on our kids and interestingly, only 1 child out of 4 got the answer - they were about 11 at the time and the 3 girls didn't get it but the boy did.

ImustLearn2Cook · 09/01/2023 07:15

I hadn’t heard this riddle before. I thought the doctor could be his mum or he could have 2 dads (as in gay couples who have children). So, does this mean that the riddle could have two right answers?

ReluctantCourier · 09/01/2023 07:17

It’s parodied in The Office

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Children's health General health
crossstitchingnana · 09/01/2023 07:20

This is very old.

NeedToKnow101 · 09/01/2023 07:29

The doctor is his mum. It is a well-known riddle.

Fireweeds · 09/01/2023 07:37

Changechangychange · 09/01/2023 06:41

Female doctor here, and yes that is very old (dates from the US in the 1960s I think, when very few women were doctors and most women gave up their jobs on marriage), and doesn’t really work these days when 60% of doctors are female. DS5 didn’t realise men could even be doctors, because he has only met me and my female medic friends, and our female GP.

You need something involving a female bricklayer or plumber or something. Or a male nurse.

Having said that the bias still exists, many female consultants speak of how the patient will defer to the male junior as The Doctor, even when they’ve been introduced.

Fireweeds · 09/01/2023 07:38

Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 04:59

Thank you for your reply! She is doing research on stereotypes and I hadn't heard of it before.. I will have a look for a different one.

Surely that’s she will be looking for another one. It being her research and all.
what level is she at?

Changechangychange · 09/01/2023 07:42

Fireweeds · 09/01/2023 07:37

Having said that the bias still exists, many female consultants speak of how the patient will defer to the male junior as The Doctor, even when they’ve been introduced.

Show quote history

I find a bigger issue is not that patients don’t believe I’m a doctor, but that they would take the word of a male junior over a female senior, as they think “men know more”. Don’t think that is unique to medicine though, unfortunately. I have friends in advertising and TV production who have experienced clients ignoring them and asking their male juniors questions about their projects.

onyttig · 09/01/2023 07:44

Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 04:59

Thank you for your reply! She is doing research on stereotypes and I hadn't heard of it before.. I will have a look for a different one.

why are you looking for a riddle
for someone else to use in their ‘research’?

dampthursday · 09/01/2023 07:54

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 09/01/2023 07:02

Yep, ancient! Plus it could be a gay male couple with kids (unthinkable when the riddle first started doing the rounds).

Also what kind of mum would refuse to operate? If it meant even 20 seconds delay while they found another doctor, I'd be straight in there. Any mum doctors care to weigh in with a view....?

Would she be allowed to operate on her own child? I always thought that was it, rather than not wanting to.

Sparklingbrook · 09/01/2023 07:57

dampthursday · 09/01/2023 07:54

Would she be allowed to operate on her own child? I always thought that was it, rather than not wanting to.

Show quote history

Thing is though she's presumably had the news that her DH/DP or ex DH/DP has died so you can understand her not feeling able to in that moment!

PinkHeadphones · 09/01/2023 07:57

Doctor is the mother, obv

Aposterhasnoname · 09/01/2023 07:59

The surgeons the mother obviously.

Original poster
Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:02

I don't understand why people have to give nasty and sarcastic comments. She saw the riddle online, I haven't seen it before, and I asked on here to see if many would get the correct answer before she asks students. I was checking if there would be many people who solved it. Obviously I know she can't use this would not give valid results. It is a simple question, I just wanted to see if many people could solve it.

OP posts:
W0tnow · 09/01/2023 08:03

Here’s my n=1 research anacdata. I’m 54. We were told this riddle when I was ….maybe 8 or 9? IIRC none of the class could solve the puzzle. I was in a reasonably middle class suburb. The dads were anything from a postie, to an estate agent, to a teacher, or maybe a bank manager. The mums mostly worked. Nurses, secretaries, that sort of thing. Either full or part time.

Years later, I asked my daughter the same question. I guess it must have been in 2014 when she was the same age. She was confused as to why i would ask such an easy riddle.

Original poster
Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:04

@Fireweeds she is in year 7.

OP posts:
Original poster
Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:05

@W0tnow I love that she found it so obvious now!! going in the right direction!

OP posts:
Isthisjustnormal · 09/01/2023 08:05

Not looked ahead but know this one well: a female doctor.

onyttig · 09/01/2023 08:07

Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:04

@Fireweeds she is in year 7.

Still better if she does her own research.

Even if it won’t produce ‘valid’ results (it’s Y7 research; it was never going to be good research!), making her own choices, trying it out and learning why it was a poor approach is the way to go.

This level of ‘help’ isn’t actually useful from parents.

W0tnow · 09/01/2023 08:07

Yes. Her bestie’s mum was a doctor so maybe that helped. Her younger sister, when she was 5, raised her hand during a kid friendly information session at the local fire brigade to ask where the ‘fire ladies’ were! That was cute. Lucky there were some! I’d never have thought that at the same age.

Y7drama · 09/01/2023 08:07

Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:04

@Fireweeds she is in year 7.

I think you’d have nicer answers if people had realised it was for an 11 year old. I assumed it was for an older student.

StarInTheHeavens · 09/01/2023 08:09

🙄This has done the rounds SOOOOO many times....

Original poster
Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:11

@onyttig I have said that this isn't going to be part of her study. I was writing it on here to get a general idea on how many people would get it correct before she asks people in her year group.

OP posts:
Original poster
Funmum1234 · 09/01/2023 08:11

@StarInTheHeavens ok, again, no need for the sarcastic comment. I hadn't heard of it before, hence why I asked the answers on here to see if many would get it.

OP posts:
macaronip1e · 09/01/2023 08:14

I think the task of drawing different professions suggested earlier in the thread is a good one to tease out stereotypes - dancer, firefighter, secretary, president, doctor, nurse etc.

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