I can't believe you posted this. This problem and all others like it are unsolvable unless you make at least one not very logical assumption about the use of graphical symbols as variables and this guys solution makes an even worse assumption that side by side variables with no operand between them should be added rather than multiplied.

I got 22..


Horse is 10, each horseshoe is 2, so double horseshoe is 4, cowboy boot is 1, so double boot is 2


also I didn't watch the video just saw the problems on the thumbnail

http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2016/09/07/the-horse-horseshoe-boots-viral-brain-teaser-the-correct-answer-explained/

From everything I've read, including this link, it's really just a basic algebra problem. What appears to make it difficult is that people who don't use algebra and math all the time will not know the specific rules with equations.

As far as posting it, why do we post anything here? This piqued my interest and I thought it might be something others would enjoy. If it isn't something you care for, don't vote or down vote.

I think it's a good, interesting post. Thanks for posting it.

It's a bit 'unfair' in that it seeks to trick people using the different number of images and then Order of Operations, but I think it's still a fun little puzzle.

As for the 'logical'-ness of assuming 2 of something equals 2 x 1 of something I think it's pretty logical; however, the image does force you to make the assumption that the image representing 2 horseshoes is logically related to the image representing one horseshoe. It's perfectly logical to assume they're not 2 totally unrelated images and yet they still 'could' be.

I would never down vote a video like this simply because it offends my knowledge of math and logic and irritates the hell out of me. These kind of problems have been coming my way on facebook repeatedly and they do get huge numbers of comments with wildly different solutions. Actually out of the 500,000 comments claimed for this one probably half of them give 42 as the answer. My problem comes from the assumption that an algebraic variable represented by a symbol (an image of a boot) bears some inherent relationship to a different symbol (two boots). Even if you make that leap that two boots is two separate variables, if there is no operand between them they should be multiplied, not added. In algebra a term such as 3AB equals 3 times A times B not 3+A+B. Unfortunately in this problem with two horseshoes equaling 4 it works either way but if two boots equals 2 then one should equal the square root of two and the correct solution would be 21.414.

This is like, grade 1 math. Making things mean simple numbers is -truly- elementary.

If I have 6 apples,

and I give 2 to Susan,

why won't she show me her panties?

In the last row, you multiply first then add second so you get 21.

Oh well, I was close. Good enough for me!

Maybe she's not wearing any...

Your logic is superior to that which is displayed in this video.

As nanrod says, the internet has been though this before... it's not about canonical order of operations or basic math rules... it's about unwarranted assumptions, and to some extent, the specific culture you were taught math in. The only correct answer is "it depends on the assumptions you make"