Viral Brain Teaser: Man sells cow and makes a profit. Can you figure out how much?
Can you solve this viral brain teaser without using a calculator? If so, how quickly?
A maths brain teaser has gone viral on social media and started a debate about the correct answer. The puzzle, shared on X, challenges people to determine the profit a man made after buying and selling a cow. Do you think you can solve this problem using mental calculations?
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“A classic brain teaser,” wrote X account Massimo on the microblogging platform. The brain teaser reads, “Kamau bought a cow for 80,000. He then sold it for 1,25,000. Next market day, he bought it back for 1,40,000. And then sold it for 1,55,000. How much profit did he make?”
Take a look at the brain teaser here:
The puzzle was shared on March 5. It has since gone viral with over 1.8 million views and the numbers are still increasing. Many even took to the comments section of the post to share the answers they got after solving the puzzle.
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Check out how people on X reacted to this brain teaser:
“45k. His initial investment is 80k. The first profit is 45k. When he goes to buy for the 2nd time, he puts in 15k extra and then sells for 15k in profit, which makes the second deal nil. So the actual profit is still 45k,” posted an individual.
Another added, “$60k. He put in $80k out of pocket and added another $15k to the initial for a total of $95k. $155k - $95k = $60k. If I’m wrong, I’m calling it a day, going home and taking a nap.”
“Just think of it as 2 separate transactions. In the first one, he made 45k, and in the second one he, he made 15. When you add those together, they equal 60k, which is the correct answer,” claimed a third.
A fourth X user wrote, “I think 30k is the profit because the 15k he borrowed (if with no interest) to buy it the second time, he made it back when selling it for 155k. Therefore, in the end, he has 110k in total. His profit is 110k - 80k = 30k .”
While many think “60,000” is the correct answer to this brain teaser, others argue that “45,000” is the solution.