The trap hidden in words
Many people automatically imagine that broken, fried, and eaten eggs are all different. Following this reasoning, we would have broken two eggs, then fried two more, then eaten two more… which gives the impression that there is almost nothing left.
But the riddle never specifies that they are different eggs. And that’s when everything changes.
So, what is the right answer?
If we take the time to reason calmly, the most logical answer is 4 eggs.
Why? Because the two broken eggs are the same ones that were fried and then eaten. In other words, only one pair of eggs underwent these three successive actions. So we start with six eggs, we use two… and there are four left.
A simple solution, but one that requires going beyond the first reflex.
Why some people still answer “6”
On social networks, another answer comes up regularly: 6 eggs. This interpretation is based on a more linguistic reading of the sentence. Some consider that “I have six eggs” describes the final situation, and that the actions mentioned explain what happened before.
