Next door
An encyclopedia salesman was working his way along a row of terraced houses. His standard patter was to ask about the children in the household. At one house the lady who answered the door told him: 鈥淚 have three children. The product of their ages is 72. The sum of their ages equals the number of an adjoining house next door.鈥� It was impossible for the salesman to work out the ages from this.
At the next house the lady who answered the door told him 鈥淚 have three children. The product of their ages is 72. The sum of their ages equals the number of an adjoining house next door.鈥� It was impossible for the salesman to work out the ages from this either. At the next house exactly the same thing happened again, and it was impossible for the salesman to work out the ages.
At a house a little further along the terrace exactly the same thing happened again and it was impossible for the salesman to work out the ages. At the next house exactly the same thing happened again, but this time the salesman was able to work out their ages.
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What were they?
WIN 拢15 will be awarded to the sender of the first correct answer opened on Wednesday 30 June. The Editor鈥檚 decision is final. Please send entries to Enigma 1597, 快猫短视频, Lacon House, 84 Theobald鈥檚 Road, London WC1X 8NS, or to enigma@newscientist.com (please include your postal address).
Answer to 1591 Pseudo coup: The number is 4
The winner Peter Steinberg of Madison, Wisconsin, US