# Finally googled 'How old is the bus driver?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467 "2014-03-11T19:09:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/1 "2014-03-11T19:09:03Z")
This was a brain teaser given to my pre-calc class the day after finals in my senior year(1988) of high school. Nobody got it. [http://www.muller.co.il/Riddle/dyn/299/bus-driver.aspx](http://www.muller.co.il/Riddle/dyn/299/bus-driver.aspx) I still had to click hint. :smack: * * * MOD NOTE: I’ve spoilered the link because it may or may not lead to a site of questionable integrity. Proceed at your own risk. **Hal Briston** - MPSIMS Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/2 "2014-03-11T19:12:18Z")
A link to an active server page on an Italian server makes me hesitant, even when posted by a long-time user. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/3 "2014-03-11T19:29:28Z")
My bad. I post from a ps3 so I don’t think about viruses and such. It was the first result. At the first stop you pick up 8 people (you already have 3 on the bus). at the second stop you drop off 4 and pick up 12. at the third stop you pick up 2 and drop off 10. How old is the bus driver? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/4 "2014-03-11T19:31:24Z")
Ah, I got it. Good one. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/5 "2014-03-11T20:59:09Z")
Old riddle in many forms. I got it before I clicked on the link. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/6 "2014-03-11T21:19:13Z")
Yeah, that’s an oldie but a goodie. I love that type of thing, that exposes “bugs” in the human brain. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/7 "2014-03-11T21:25:10Z")
I’ve heard that one so long ag that I couldn’t even tell you if I got the answer right the first time, though I remember it was posed as, “What’s the bus driver’s name.” What I’m wondering is who tells a brain teaser and then doesn’t ever give the answer? Maybe your pre-calc teacher was still hoping you would tumble to the solution eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/8 "2014-03-11T21:26:53Z")
Answer: 34. In my case, that is. Your mileage may vary. Any prices for getting it right away? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/9 "2014-03-11T21:27:24Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > A link to an active server page on an Italian server makes me hesitant, even when posted by a long-time user. Just sayin’. Italian? .il is Israel, so it must be kosher 😃 But the grammar and spelling are terrible, and the “riddle” wouldn’t fox a 10-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/10 "2014-03-11T21:30:48Z")
> [@enomaj](#): > > My bad. I post from a ps3 so I don’t think about viruses and such. It was the first result. > > At the first stop you pick up 8 people (you already have 3 on the bus). at the second stop you drop off 4 and pick up 12. at the third stop you pick up 2 and drop off 10. How old is the bus driver? I can’t tell, (as I already knew the answer), but I think telling it like that with the constantly repeating “you” makes it too easy. I’ve generally heard it as “you’re the driver of a bus, at the first stop 6 passengers…”, with the “you” only used at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/11 "2014-03-11T21:46:02Z")
I don’t remember the wording of the riddle we got but I do remember starting to add up the passengers before getting to the question. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/12 "2014-03-11T21:46:55Z")
Seriously, not one single person in your calc class got that? That’s hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/13 "2014-03-11T21:53:22Z")
> [@enomaj](#): > > My bad. I post from a ps3 so I don’t think about viruses and such. It was the first result. > > At the first stop you pick up 8 people (you already have 3 on the bus). at the second stop you drop off 4 and pick up 12. at the third stop you pick up 2 and drop off 10. How old is the bus driver? If the answer is supposed to be my age , then why it does not seem obvious to me must be a local dialect thing. If someone said to me On the bus this morning, did you pick up my brother? there’s no way I interpret that question to mean I was driving. As **Mr Shine** noted, if the riddle starts “You are the driver” that makes it a different question. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/14 "2014-03-11T21:57:52Z")
Now that we’ve figured this one out, can we work on how many sacks, cats & wives were going to St. Ives? ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/15 "2014-03-11T22:00:38Z")
The riddle was given out near the end of class. We were supposed to approach the teacher and tell him the answer once we got it. Everyone was trying to figure it out and then the bell rang. Also the riddle in the OP only has a you in the beginning like Mr. Shine said. The grammarless, mispelled version was copied from a yahoo answer when my PS3 wouldn’t load the original link. OP was from a PS4. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/16 "2014-03-11T22:07:17Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Now that we’ve figured this one out, can we work on how many sacks, cats & wives were going to St. Ives? It depends. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/17 "2014-03-11T23:44:31Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Now that we’ve figured this one out, can we work on how many sacks, cats & wives were going to St. Ives? The real question is how many were going to Altoona? (If anyone picks up _that_ reference, I’ll be vastly impressed. Of course, this is the SDMB, so it is possible.) ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/18 "2014-03-12T00:03:34Z")
How many people POGO’d to Altoona, Pennsylvania? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/19 "2014-03-12T00:14:22Z")
What color is the bear? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467/20 "2014-03-12T00:20:25Z")
A bear walks ten miles south, ten miles west, and ten miles north, and ends up in the same place it started. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-googled-how-old-is-the-bus-driver/683467.md?page=2)