This ‘maths meme’ has people scratching their heads. Can you solve it?

The puzzle seems quite easy. It has an equation you need to solve and even gives you the answer for it. All you need to do is arrive at that answer. Ready? Try it

All those years of BODMAS and x= this and y=that may have made you wonder, “But where will I ever use this?” Well, who knew years after school, those same equations would come back to haunt you in the form of viral online puzzles. Take for this example this “maths meme” that’s created a stir on not one but at least two social media platforms. This “funny rather than stupid” equation has many scratching their heads for the correct explanation and some going “aah” over the answer. So which of these two sides features you?

Twitter user @kj_cheetham posted this little puzzle of sorts on the micro blogging site on July 13. Not only did it collect explanations and answers from tweeple, it also made its way to Facebook where more people tired it.

The puzzle seems quite easy. It has an equation you need to solve and even gives you the answer for it. All you need to do is arrive at that answer. Ready? Try it:

While on Twitter the puzzle has collected over 57,000 ‘likes’ and more than 24,000 retweets, on Facebook, a snapshot of the tweet has collected over 980 shares and more than 5,000 reactions since it was posted on July 14.

So have you managed to arrive at the right answer? If you’re confused, don’t worry. Several others have felt the same way. Here’s how some have solved this:

Here’s the solution:

And here’s how people have reacted to the solution:

So what do you think of the “maths meme”?