Mr. and Mrs. Singh have fifteen children, all born at intervals of one year and a half. Miss Simran Singh, the eldest, had an objection to state her age to the census man, but she admitted that she was just seven times older than little Maninder, the youngest of all. What was Simran’s age?
Avoid haste to solve this rather innocent looking puzzle, lest you make an inadvertent blunder.
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Simran must have been twenty-four and her little brother Maninder three years of age, with thirteen brothers and sisters between. There was a trap for the solver in the words “seven times older than little Maninder.” Of course, “seven times older” is equal to eight times as old. It is surprising how many people hastily assume that it is the same as “seven times as old.” Some of the best writers have committed this blunder. Probably many of my readers thought that the ages 24½ and 3½ were correct.
