As I was going to St Ives,
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?
This is a very old puzzle, and appeared in a manuscript dated around 1730. It is thought to refer to a town in Cornwall, UK.
If we were to count everyone and everything, including all of the kits, cats, sacks and wives, we would have:
Me = 1
Man = 1
Wifes = 7
Sacks = 7 x 7 = 49
Cats = 7 x 7 x 7 = 343
Kits = 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 = 2401
Start from the central 'F' and move horizontally or vertically, and collect the letters needed to spell 'FIND' (in any order). How many routes can you take?
D
N
I
D
D
N
D
I
D
D
I
N
F
I
I
N
I
N
D
D
I
D
I
D
N
Note: this puzzle is not interactive, and the letters cannot be clicked.
