Braingle: 'Snip, Snap at the Shoe Shack!' Brain Teaser

Snip, Snap at the Shoe Shack!

Trick brain teasers appear difficult at first, but they have a trick that makes them really easy.

Puzzle ID:	#28360
Fun:	(2.86)
Difficulty:	(1.99)
Category:	Trick
Submitted By:	Swordoffury1392
Corrected By:	Swordoffury1392

Witty Will gets a job at a newly opened shoe store called Shoe Shack. His infamous brother, Arrogant Arnold, decides now he can reap up on his brother's benefits and get himself new shoes, since his old Nikes for Tykes were getting way too babyish for him. One day, Arnold decided to go to Shoe Shack and ask his brother to get him some real Nikes for half price!

After his long pleading, Will made a deal with his brother. If Arnold could answer Will's question, he would let Arnold use his employee benefits, but if not, Arnold would have to give Will ten bucks.

First, he gave Arnold one shoe which was tied and said to him, "Think about this; you HAVE to do it in your head. If you cut both loops of this shoelace, how many pieces of shoestring do you have in your hands?"

Obviously, Will got ten dollars richer, but can you answer his question? (No cheating, do it in your HEAD!)

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Comments

achnid Jan 30, 2006	actualy I disagree. He's holding the shoe not the string. even with the string cut. When its cut and still tied the pieces still stay attatched to the soe and he is still holding just a shoe. It just has more pieces of string on the shoe.
Swordoffury1392 Jan 30, 2006	The question was how many pieces of string he would have in his hands, not how many pieces of string.
Swordoffury1392 Jan 30, 2006	sorry, i meant how many pieces of SHOEstring he would have not just string
xolilangel827ox Jan 30, 2006	also if they were tied in a regular bow he wouldnt be holding any since they are still tied in the knot!! good one though
WJSMama Jan 30, 2006	haha That was great. I love it when I don't notice that it's a trick question, because it always makes me laugh
piglet1098 Jan 31, 2006	oh man u got me on that one. it was so simple.im embarassed
smartstuff8664 Jan 31, 2006	snip snap at the shoe shack five times fast! HA I said it!
Punk_Rocker Feb 03, 2006	Hmm...I said none, because I didn't think he was holding it. But it's a good teaser anyway.
(user deleted) Feb 04, 2006	it was ok but it was kinda borning
soccer_chick70 Feb 04, 2006	loved the teaser... way cute... and to the Hint/Bonus: I can do it! see? thetitlethetitlethetitlethetitlethetitle hehe! I've got my own little trick there!
soccer_chick70 Feb 04, 2006	OR!!! you could say "the title five times fast"
Swordoffury1392 Feb 04, 2006	lol I didn't think of that!
the_names_bruce Feb 05, 2006	nice
Ationsong Feb 11, 2006
virgo51210 Feb 11, 2006	istill dont get it...
Swordoffury1392 Feb 12, 2006	Virgo, he did the whole thing in his head, so since he didn't actually cut anything he still actually only had the one piece of string he started off with. Hope that clears it up!
fezface Feb 24, 2006	THAT WAS AWESOME!
thimblenoggin Feb 25, 2006	He was asked to think in his head what would happen IF he cut the string, and IF he cut the string he would have three pieces in his hand. IF. Of course he didn't.
IMCUL4E Feb 28, 2006	OOH! OOH! the shoe was not necessarily in his hand! therefore, he would have NO pieces in his hand!
shadow-x Feb 28, 2006	gosh that hint was mean i couldnt do it o well and i did get it right tho.
Swordoffury1392 Feb 28, 2006	Actually, IMCUL4E, it says in the teaser that he gave Arnold a shoe, so sorry!
IMCUL4E Mar 04, 2006	hmmm... aHA! he set it down on a table!!
vikingboy Mar 10, 2006	To me, he either has no strings because he did it in his head, and is just holding a shoe. Or, he has three, because it says "if you cut..." so he'd have three pieces in his mind. He wouldn't have just one in any case. I smack my brother with the shoe if he tried this on me!
king_leonard Mar 22, 2006	vikingboy ur strange u always leave this huge message thing... oh yeah the teasr was funny!!! i lyk these kind PS it isnt thatr hard to say the title 5 times fast
(user deleted) May 06, 2006	ya totally didnt understand....why would how many shoe strings he had in his had have any thing to do with being in his head and like other people said it was still tied..it was connected to the shoe not his hand
DufusX May 13, 2006	I actually did the problem and the answer i got was three.
prettyinpinkxo9 May 15, 2006	Ha! that was sooooo funny, keep up the good work
dolphingurl12 Jun 18, 2006	I loved it, especially the hint!
reptile5000 Nov 10, 2006	YOU HAVE TO GET IT WHERE THERE ARE NO OTHER POSSIBILITIES, LIIKE IT "COULD" BE IN HIS HAND, OR HE "COULD" HAVE CUT IT DIFFERENTLY, ETC.
soonitwillend Dec 20, 2006	Reptile, all possibilities ARE eliminated. He was GIVEN the shoe. If you are given something, it means you have it. He has to CUT BOTH LOOPS. The only two loops are the ones to be cut. To everybody else: If you are holding something that has something on it, you still are holding that item! And besides, who's to say he's not holding it by the laces? That's most likely how I'd hold it. I think it is a very good teaser, I enjoyed it.
Swordoffury1392 Dec 20, 2006	Thanks! Glad you liked it.
1smart_okie Oct 06, 2007	I don't get it!
zeepuzzlemaster Jan 03, 2008	I don't really like it It could also be zero (he's holding his shoe) It could also be three (if you actually did it) But I don't think that it could be one (because IF he did it how many WOULD he have not does he have).
(user deleted) Feb 25, 2008	Bad question The answer IS 3. The question says "IF you cut both loops of this shoelace, how many pieces of shoestring WOULD you have in your hands" Not how many DO you have. You would have 3 pieces tied together.
Swordoffury1392 Mar 24, 2008	you know what, i completely agree. I shall change it!
quintopia Feb 05, 2009	I still think it's written wrong. It should read: "Imagine that you cut both loops of this shoelace. Now how many pieces of shoelace are there on the shoe?"