Really HARD Riddle! HELP!!!

[Triumph]

This riddle is dumb as well.

two MIT math grads bump into each other at Fairway on the upper west side. they haven't seen each other in over 20 years.

the first grad says to the second: "how have you been?"
second: "great! i got married and i have three daughters now"
first: "really? how old are they?"
second: "well, the product of their ages is 72, and the sum of their ages is the same as the number on that building over there.."
first: "right, ok.. oh wait.. hmm, i still don't know"
second: "oh sorry, the oldest one just started to play the piano"
first: "wonderful! my oldest is the same age!"

Option A: 9, 4, and 2
Product = 72
Sum = 15, but it doesn't matter because we don't know what the building number is.

Option B: 8, 3, and 3
Product = 72
Sum = 13, but it doesn't matter because we don't know what the building number is.

Option C: 6, 4, and 3
Product = 72
Sum = 13, but it doesnt matter because we don't know what the building number is.

There's no correct answer. There's no reason to assume any two daughters are twins. The sum part is useless.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: Triumph
This riddle is dumb as well.

two MIT math grads bump into each other at Fairway on the upper west side. they haven't seen each other in over 20 years.

the first grad says to the second: "how have you been?"
second: "great! i got married and i have three daughters now"
first: "really? how old are they?"
second: "well, the product of their ages is 72, and the sum of their ages is the same as the number on that building over there.."
first: "right, ok.. oh wait.. hmm, i still don't know"
second: "oh sorry, the oldest one just started to play the piano"
first: "wonderful! my oldest is the same age!"

Option A: 9, 4, and 2
Product = 72
Sum = 15, but it doesn't matter because we don't know what the building number is.

Option B: 8, 3, and 3
Product = 72
Sum = 13, but it doesn't matter because we don't know what the building number is.

Option C: 6, 4, and 3
Product = 72
Sum = 13, but it doesnt matter because we don't know what the building number is.

There's no correct answer. There's no reason to assume any two daughters are twins. The sum part is useless.

Wrong. Grad A knows the number... if the address was a unique sum then he'd know the ages of the daughter. Thus, the only possibilites are those that have the same sums. Only two two different numbers have the same product and sum. The clue that there is an oldest lets you know which of the tuples being multiplied contains the ages of the children. Oh, and 8+3+3 = 14

 

[gigapet]

ummm worst riddle ever?

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: rudder
42.

 

[HonkeyDonk]

The OP's wording of this riddle is definitely bad. It kind of ruins the whole riddle.

The one with the MIT one is much better and makes more sense.

I think what makes the OPs version so difficult to grasp is the fact that he left the important part of the guy "not being able to figure it out quickly".

Whenever the guy (i'm talking about the MIT version) couldn't figure it out, it means that he has a set of possible answers but needs more information to narrow it down.

So like in the OPs case, we can list out the possible answers like someone did above. Then if someone tells us the house number ... we should be able to figure out the answer RIGHT AWAY....UNLESS there are 2 choices with the same house number. Then we need one more clue....the one about the OLDEST playing violin.

Without the assumption that the MIT guy is super smart and can figure it out with the proper information, this riddle is very hard to grasp.

Does that help anyone out?