I gave all my classes this riddle this week - 3 kids got the answer.

[IHeartKingThistle]

I teach secondary English. Last week as a starter I gave all my classes (Yr 7s, 8s and 9s) some riddles to solve and this was one of them:

A man and his son are in a car accident and are rushed to hospital. When they arrive the doctor looks at the boy and exclaims 'I can't operate on him, he's my son!' How can this be?

Some kids guessed that the boy had 2 dads in a gay relationship, which could technically be correct of course. But it only occurred to 3 kids out of nearly 100 that the doctor could be a woman. Not one of the Year 7s thought of it.

In this day and age? I couldn't believe it!

They got a nice little lecture on feminism as a bonus that lesson

It seems an odd scenario for the Dad not to have let the Mum know that their son has been in a car accident so bad he's being rushed to hospital.
Stranger still the Mum's reaction, after examining him, is to announce that he's her son.

I tried this on DP a year ago, I'm still annoyed because he's a right smart arse but imo needs some educating on feminist issues.
Unfortunately we had just ended a big discussion on a feminist issue and I was trying to get him in a "gotcha" moment by asking him about the mum surgeon situation... but he replied correctly in an instant and with an eye roll!

I need to pick my moments...

BartholinsSister the dad died in the scenario.

My 11 year old got it

Car accident.
Father died.
Boy rushed to hospital.
Surgeon can't operate on own child.

Who is the surgeon?

My daughter who wants to be a doctor said he has two dads?

I think OP missed that bit out!

I’m one of those irritating mums who loudly changes he/his to she/her in nursery rhymes. Especially miss polly had a dolly and all the animals that tend to be male.

Dh got that when I asked him it 20 years ago. I was very pleased :)

DH said "must be his dad"
DD1 got it after I explained that it was the Dad in the car accident...
I have to admit I didn't figure out the answer until I read it so obviously we all need to learn something in this household! Especially as we have 2 DDs!

DadDadDad - great clip, and lovely to see the fab Lucy Masoud in there.

I asked my DC and they all looked at me as if I was mad and said the surgeon was as the boys Mum.

My DH hmm'd and ahhh'd for a while which was interesting as I'm the professional sole breadwinner in our house.

I actually think that the way it’s written is designed to trip you up. It’s man, boy, doctor. I think if you said a Dad and his daughter etc you’d get many more people saying ‘It’s her MUM’ it’s leading you to think Male

There is an element of that. In reality there can't be anyone who hasn't come across a female doctor.

It's a bit like the "how do you stop a 3 legged table wobbling"? question. The correct answer is, it wouldn't wobble but the question is pushing the listener to look for a solution

A woman and her daughter are in a car accident and are rushed to hospital. When they arrive the doctor looks at the girl and exclaims 'I can't operate on her, she's my daughter!' How can this be?

I wonder if the riddle was written as the above, many people would guess that the doctor was the girl's father? That would be a way to test whether it's the language used that's driving the results I guess?

My 7 year old daughter said "it's his mum"

DD(7) got it right straight away.

I've done something right.

DS1 just guessed at the two gay dads solution. I'm his mum and I have a fucking doctorate!!

great clip, and lovely to see the fab Lucy Masoud in there

It is. I tried this riddle out on my son a while back and he did get it right.

Dd13 said isn't she allowed because she doesn't want to cut into her son. Hair with that.

Ds8 said, what, don't get it 😅

I just asked dd (11) and DH. Dd said “has he got two dads ? “ and DH , rather bafflingly said “ oh , is it his granddad ?” .
I’m horrified !

*happy

We went to A&E the other week and DD (3yo) complained all the way home that the dr had not checked her. I think it was because it was a female Dr too much Dr Ranj maybe? I don't even know how she can have absorbed it at such a young age! All our GPs are women, they're the only other drs that she's seen.

Dsd14 didnt get it first time she said another dad so gay couple, ds16 said mum first or gay couple and ds18 and uni mates said lots of male relatives and adoption etc before mum and then questioned whether doctors can operate on family.
We are same sex couple so partly pleased they considered gay couple but still disappointed 2 out of 23 didn't say mum first.

The nature of the riddle is such that it encourages the assumption that the doctor is a man. I've had Wem doctors in my family since my grandmother's generation. I nearly became a doctor myself. This isn't a feminist issue. Merely a riddle.

@bumpitybumpity image in my mind whilst reading that was of a female doctor saying they can't opperate. It's definitely a factor (for me at least). After visualising two males/females the next person of unspecified sex I imagine as the same sex as the previous two.