Can you guess the riddle

[ilovepuppys]

Father and son are out and about in town when a dog attacks them both. Both are badly bitten and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The boy must have a minor operation but just as he is about to go under the knife the surgeon says ' I can't operate - that boy is my son!'

Who is the surgeon?

His mother

The mother

His mum

The mother?

The boy's mother

His mother. It's a very old riddle. I first heard it in the '80s.

God it's not much of a riddle is it?

I read some nonsense about it being read to secondary school kids or something and apparently they didn't know the answer because 'women can't be doctors!

Don't believe it

It’s not a difficult one really is it?

Surely it’s been a long time since anyone was caught out by this?

@BatFacedOK that's not nonsense, I've seen that happen a couple of times this year.

It's not that they consciously think that women can't be surgeons, but that their socialisation means their default thought is that surgeon = man.

One kid will quietly make the suggestion that the surgeon is the mother, and they quickly all have a light-bulb/'of course' moment.

Gender role socialisation is still alive and well.

I'm sure it is but really?

Nobody on this thread will get this one wrong. I just asked my 11 year old son and he just said ' really mum?'

It could also be his other father.

Are you being unreasonable about what?

P.S. the CBeebies website is that way ------>

Even Small Son worked this out. Here, have a

Yes it's strange so many people got it wrong today when I asked them

Yes it's strange so many people got it wrong today when I asked them Are you in a class-room full of three-year olds?

Tbf to the OP my dp just said 'the grandfather?' Wtf. Then he thought about it...

It's an oldie, but TooTrueToBeGood also makes a fair point - and it could even be a biological son with an adoptive father. Opening gambit for an interesting class debate on gender stereotyping versus lateral thinking.

here's another riddle to try:

Sam went without sleep for 12 days, on the 13th day he was just fine, how can this be?

He slept at night

Anyone got any more of these? Hopefully new because I know all the old ones.

yep :)

Not far off shore a ship stands with a rope ladder hanging over her side. The rope has 10 rungs. The distance between each rung is 12 inches. The lowest rung touches the water. The ocean is calm. Because of the incoming tide, the surface of the water rises 4 inches per hour. How soon will the water cover the third rung from the top rung of the rope ladder?

I've been told that today comes before yesterday, How is this possible??

That's an oldie.

YABU

or maybe YANBU

What was the question?