Two Meeting Places
Sofia told her friend Daniel that the gathering would be at the “park,” but told her friend Chloe it would be at the “café”—giving them different meeting places.
When her mother, whom she hadn’t invited yet, asked, “You’re meeting at the park, right?” Sofia neither denied it nor corrected her, and decided to meet at a different location instead.
Why?
Let’s unravel your preconceptions, one by one.
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3 Levels of Hints
Take it little by little, just as much as you need.
Hint 1
The reason she didn’t invite her mother isn’t because she doesn’t want her to come.
Hint 2
Sofia didn’t want to tell her mother about the preparations just yet.
Hint 3
Which of the two places her mother knows about is a clue to how the information reached her.
Check the Answer
The truth behind this mystery
Sofia was planning a birthday party as a surprise for her mother. However, it seemed word of the preparations had reached her mother.
So, she told Daniel the park and Chloe the café—both potential meeting places that hadn’t been finalized yet. She asked them both not to tell her mother, intending to see which story would reach her.
When her mother mentioned the gathering at the park, Sofia realized her secret had been leaked. However, it wasn’t necessarily the case that Daniel had told her mother directly.
If she had corrected her mother right then, she would have had to talk more about the party. To leave some room for surprise, she changed the location to a different one that she hadn’t told anyone about yet.
If you notice this, you’ve got it right
To see how information about the secret gathering would reach her mother, she mentioned different potential locations. When she realized her mother already knew the location, she didn’t go into detail at that moment and changed the venue to keep the element of surprise.
A secret gathering intended to delight her mother is a valid solution even if it is not a birthday party. There is no need to identify who told her mother directly or to assume malicious intent.
Suggested questions and answers for group play
- Was the gathering intended for Sofia’s mother?
- Yes. It was a surprise birthday party for Sofia’s mother.
- Did Sofia give the wrong location by mistake?
- No. She deliberately gave them different possible meeting places.
- Were the two locations already confirmed venues?
- No. They were still just potential venues.
- Is it important that her mother knew one of the potential venues?
- Yes.
- Can we conclude that Daniel told Sofia’s mother directly?
- No. It’s also possible the information was relayed through someone else.
- Did Sofia leave her mother’s remark uncorrected to avoid revealing more about the party?
- Yes.
- Did Sofia change the location because it would otherwise be hard to surprise her mother?
- Yes.
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