Something about the old man made the foreman uneasy.
There was a glint in his eye that suggested he might not be entirely what he seemed—perhaps a trickster, perhaps just clever. Still, the foreman decided to test him, hoping the man’s answers would reveal whether he was serious or simply looking for a laugh.
An elderly man was eager to land a job, but the foreman insisted on giving him a small math test first.
“Here’s your first challenge,” said the foreman. “Show me the number nine—without using any digits.”
“Without numbers?” the old man repeated. “Simple enough.” He then drew three trees on a sheet of paper.
“What is this supposed to be?” the foreman asked, puzzled.
“Don’t you see?” the old man replied. “Tree plus tree plus tree equals nine.”
The foreman raised an eyebrow but nodded, slightly amused.
“For your second question,” the foreman continued, “do the same thing, but this time for ninety-nine.”
The old man paused, thought for a moment, then made a smudge on each tree before handing the paper back.
The foreman frowned. “And how does that represent ninety-nine?”
“Simple,” the old man said. “Each tree is now dirty. Dirty tree plus dirty tree plus dirty tree equals ninety-nine.”
“Alright… last one,” the foreman said. “Show me one hundred using the same rules.”
The old man added a small mark at the base of each tree and returned the paper.
The foreman stared. “You really expect me to believe that represents one hundred?”
The old man leaned in and whispered, “A little dog came along and pooped by each tree. So now you have dirty tree plus a turd, plus dirty tree plus a turd, plus dirty tree plus a turd—which equals one hundred.”
The foreman blinked. Then laughed.
Later, during a more conventional interview, the same man was asked, “What would your friends say are your weaknesses?”
“I don’t have any!” he answered cheerfully.
The interviewer looked skeptical. “That can’t be right. Everyone has some weaknesses.”
“Oh no,” the man replied with a grin. “You misunderstood. I don’t have any friends.”
Conclusion:
Some candidates answer with cleverness, some with honesty, and some with humor—but every once in a while, one manages to combine all three in ways you never forget.
The old man didn’t just pass a test; he left an impression that no standard question could measure. Sometimes, the best “answers” are the ones that make you laugh first—and think later.