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Singapore Cheryl’s Birthday: Impossible Math Question Is Tearing Apart The Internet

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 13:01 PST, Apr 14, 2015

A math question from Singapore about Cheryl’s birthday is taking over where the ambiguously colored dress left off.

The question hit the internet on Tuesday, posted by a television host in Singapore, and went immediately viral. The question asked students to determine Cheryl’s birthday, using some convoluted language and seemingly impossible logic.

The question is difficult to decipher, but the New York Times boiled it down to a simpler (but still incredibly difficult) version.

“Albert and Bernard just met Cheryl. ‘When’s your birthday?’ Albert asked Cheryl.

Cheryl thought a second and said, ‘I’m not going to tell you, but I’ll give you some clues.’ She wrote down a list of 10 dates:

May 15 — May 16 — May 19

June 17 — June 18

July 14 — July 16

August 14 — August 15 — August 17

‘My birthday is one of these,’ she said.

Then Cheryl whispered in Albert’s ear the month — and only the month — of her birthday. To Bernard, she whispered the day, and only the day.

‘Can you figure it out now?’ she asked Albert.

Albert: I don’t know when your birthday is, but I know Bernard doesn’t know, either.

Bernard: I didn’t know originally, but now I do.

Albert: Well, now I know, too!

When is Cheryl’s birthday?”

But beyond the seemingly impossible difficult logic involved, the question of Cheryl’s birthday seemed to tear apart the internet much like the blue and black (or was it white and gold?) dress did a few weeks back.

Many people took to Twitter to posit their own answer, argue with each other about the right answer, and decry the seemingly impossible riddle.

Others were a bit more vulgar, like Chanandler Bong, who tweeted as follows.

“The answer to this maths question for Singapore schoolkids is ‘f**k off Cheryl, if you don’t wanna tell me, just say’ “

Kenneth Chang, who posted a solution on the New York Times‘ website, pointed out some other oddities.

“This puzzle is particularly convoluted. Why don’t Albert and Bernard just blurt out what Cheryl has told them? Why is Cheryl so coy about revealing the month and day, but not year, of her birthday? What else is Cheryl trying to hide?”

For folks who want to figure out the answer to the impossible Singapore question, the real date of Cheryl’s birthday can be found here. If you’re having trouble, keep this in mind — the question was meant for 14-year-olds.

[Image via Twitter]

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