News Digest

Singapore high school math problem stumps the Internet

A math problem that first appeared on a test for Singapore’s elite high school students has baffled Internet users around the world, prompting a rush of attempts to solve it. The question, involving a girl asking two boys to guess her birthday after giving them scant clues, first appeared in an April 8 test organized by the Singapore and Asian School Math Olympiads (SOSMA). It was meant for 15- and 16-year-old secondary school students, but swiftly went global after a television news presenter posted it on his Facebook page Saturday.

Cheryl obviously didn’t want Albert and Bernard at her party. Should have taken the hint when Cheryl decided to play this little game.

A frustrated netizen trying to solve the problem

In the question, Cheryl gives her new friends Albert and Bernard 10 possible dates when they ask about her birthday, before separately giving each of them further clues. Test takers are then asked to use logic to deduce Cheryl’s birthday using a short conversation between the two boys about the information given to them. By Monday, Internet users around the world were posting meticulously detailed answers to the puzzle on social media networks such as Facebook and Reddit, only to prompt a slew of comments disputing their findings and methodology.