The Cow Riddle: Solution and Explanation

The Cow Riddle: A Step-by-Step Solution

The Cow Riddle has become a popular online puzzle, challenging people with its seemingly simple premise and unexpected answer. It’s a great exercise in logical thinking and understanding how to work with numbers. Here’s the riddle:

You buy a cow for $100, sell it for $150, buy it back for $200, and sell it again for $250. How much profit did you make?

The Solution

The answer is $100. Here’s how to break it down:

1. Initial Purchase: You spend $100.
2. First Sale: You earn $150, making a profit of $50 ($150 – $100).
3. Second Purchase: You spend $200, but remember, you already made a $50 profit. So, your net cost is $150 ($200 – $50).
4. Second Sale: You earn $250. Since your net cost was $150, your profit is $100 ($250 – $150).

Why the Riddle is Tricky

The riddle is designed to mislead you. It makes you focus on the individual transactions, leading you to add and subtract the amounts incorrectly. Instead, you need to consider the overall financial position after each step.

Here’s a simplified way to think about it:

• You started with $0.
• You made a net profit of $50 after the first sale.
• You made another net profit of $50 after the second sale.

Therefore, your total profit is $100.

Key Takeaways

The Cow Riddle teaches us the importance of:

• Focusing on the overall picture: Don’t get caught up in individual transactions. Look at the big picture of your financial position.
• Avoiding common errors: The riddle highlights how easily we can be misled by the way information is presented.

Next time you encounter a similar riddle, remember to break it down step-by-step and consider the net effect on your finances.