# Groom Failsd Math Test -- Wedding Off **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995 "2015-03-14T16:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/1 "2015-03-14T16:30:39Z")
I saw this in this morning’s paper: > [@](#): > > **Indian bride walks out of wedding when groom fails math test** > > . > > . > > . > > NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian bride walked out of her wedding ceremony after the groom failed to solve a simple math problem, police said Friday. > > The bride tested the groom on his math skills and when he got the sum wrong, she walked out. > > The question she asked: How much is 15 plus six? > > His reply: 17. > > The incident took place late Wednesday in Rasoolabad village near the industrial town of Kanpur in northern Uttar Pradesh state, local police officer Rakesh Kumar said Friday. > > The groom’s family tried persuading the bride to return, but she refused. She said the groom had misled them about his education. > > “The groom’s family kept us in the dark about his poor education,” said Mohar Singh, the bride’s father. “Even a first grader can answer this.” (available many places on line, as it’s an AP story) [http://news.yahoo.com/groom-fails-math-test-indian-bride-walks-wedding-065433753.html;\_ylt=A0LEVz\_CYARVnkIApJBXNyoA;\_ylu=X3oDMTEzNnRrNDdhBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQMzAxXzEEc2VjA3Ny](http://news.yahoo.com/groom-fails-math-test-indian-bride-walks-wedding-065433753.html;_ylt=A0LEVz_CYARVnkIApJBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNnRrNDdhBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQMzAxXzEEc2VjA3Ny) At first it seems ridiculous, until you get to the part where he said “17”. Unless he was putting them on, this is absurd. There might be much more to this than we’re being told. For instance, as the article concludes: > [@](#): > > Most marriages in India are arranged by the families of the bride and groom. Except for brief meetings, the couple rarely gets to know each other before the nuptials. So, for instance, maybe this was a way out of an arranged marriage she didn’t want. That would’ve worked even if the prospective groom said “17” as a joke. I’m reminded of how Heinlein, in **Expanded Universe** , suggested that maybe people should have to give the roots of a quadratic equation in the voting booth before they could vote. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/2 "2015-03-14T18:40:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I saw this in this morning’s paper: > > (available many places on line, as it’s an AP story) > > [http://news.yahoo.com/groom-fails-math-test-indian-bride-walks-wedding-065433753.html;\_ylt=A0LEVz\_CYARVnkIApJBXNyoA;\_ylu=X3oDMTEzNnRrNDdhBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQMzAxXzEEc2VjA3Ny](http://news.yahoo.com/groom-fails-math-test-indian-bride-walks-wedding-065433753.html;_ylt=A0LEVz_CYARVnkIApJBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNnRrNDdhBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQMzAxXzEEc2VjA3Ny) > At first it seems ridiculous, until you get to the part where he said “17”. Unless he was putting them on, this is absurd. There might be much more to this than we’re being told. For instance, as the article concludes: > > So, for instance, maybe this was a way out of an arranged marriage she didn’t want. That would’ve worked even if the prospective groom said “17” as a joke. > > I’m reminded of how Heinlein, in **Expanded Universe** , suggested that maybe people should have to give the roots of a quadratic equation in the voting booth before they could vote. Sounds like the groom was mentally handicapped, and his family was keeping that a secret (the article mentions another case where a family was hiding significant medical information about a prospective spouse). ---
**Author:** ![SJL4041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@SJL4041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SJL4041)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/3 "2015-03-14T18:44:27Z")
This seems like a prudent test for people entering into arranged marriages. You know, Rochester could have really simplified his later love life if he has simply quizzed Bertha Mason on some times tables or perhaps some inkblots. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/4 "2015-03-14T18:50:09Z")
Good for her. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/5 "2015-03-14T18:57:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’m reminded of how Heinlein, in **Expanded Universe** , suggested that maybe people should have to give the roots of a quadratic equation in the voting booth before they could vote. I think they should have to conjugate “to lie” (meaning recline), and “to lay,” explain the differences in meanings, and what transitive and intransitive verbs are. Yes, I just heard someone use it wrong _again._ You know how people say “I wish I had a nickel for every time […]” For me, […] is “people saying ‘laying’ when they mean ‘lying.’” ---
**Author:** ![SJL4041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@SJL4041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SJL4041)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/6 "2015-03-14T19:13:29Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think they should have to conjugate “to lie” (meaning recline), and “to lay,” explain the differences in meanings, and what transitive and intransitive verbs are. > > Yes, I just heard someone use it wrong _again._ You know how people say “I wish I had a nickel for every time […]” For me, […] is “people saying ‘laying’ when they mean ‘lying.’” I’m against this test, since it means I would still be single. I blame William Faulkner. I still can’t keep laying and lying separate. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/7 "2015-03-14T22:04:40Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think they should have to conjugate “to lie” (meaning recline), and “to lay,” explain the differences in meanings, and what transitive and intransitive verbs are. > > Yes, I just heard someone use it wrong _again._ You know how people say “I wish I had a nickel for every time […]” For me, […] is “people saying ‘laying’ when they mean ‘lying.’” From [What Is The Name Of This Book?](http://www.pdfarchive.info/pdf/S/Sm/Smullyan_Raymond_-_What_is_the_Name_of_This_Book.pdf) by Raymond Smullyan: > [@](#): > > 1. Suppose _you_ visit the island of knights and knaves [i.e., truth-tellers and liars]. . . . 38. This time, you come across just one inhabitant lazily lying in the sun. You remember that his first name is either Edwin or Edward, but you cannot remember which. So you ask him his first name and he answers “Edward.” > > What is his first name? Solution: > [@](#): > > 1. I feel entitled, occasionally, to a little horseplay. The vital clue I gave you was that the man was lazily lying in the sun. From this it follows that he was lying in the sun. From this it follows that he was _lying,_ hence he is a knave. So his name is Edwin. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/8 "2015-03-14T22:37:09Z")
Poor guy. I got shafted as well. Except my answer was x squared over 2 when it should have been x squared over 2 plus an arbitrary constant C. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/9 "2015-03-14T22:39:02Z")
Maybe the bride had just watched [the Baltimore Colts trivia quiz scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS3VuRbizDs) from the movie Diner. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/10 "2015-03-14T22:55:24Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Maybe the bride had just watched [the Baltimore Colts trivia quiz scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS3VuRbizDs) from the movie Diner. Yes, I thought of that scene as well. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/11 "2015-03-15T04:37:52Z")
I think that the groom was smarter than any of them realized. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/12 "2015-03-15T05:21:37Z")
I think I had this nightmare, only I was naked too. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/13 "2015-03-15T05:33:24Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Poor guy. > > I got shafted as well. > > Except my answer was x squared over 2 when it should have been x squared over 2 plus an arbitrary constant C. Well yeah, especially if the problem was ∫ u du ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/14 "2015-03-15T10:51:04Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Sounds like the groom was mentally handicapped, and his family was keeping that a secret (the article mentions another case where a family was hiding significant medical information about a prospective spouse). Or, perhaps the groom was not happy with the bride that was selected for him by the parents. When asked a simple arithmetic problem to seal the deal, he saw an easy way out and flubbed it on purpose. Nutty thing, arranged marriages. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/15 "2015-03-15T12:25:32Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Poor guy. > > I got shafted as well. > > Except my answer was x squared over 2 when it should have been x squared over 2 plus an arbitrary constant C. Yeah. So I said “ln x + c” all full of confidence, turns out I should have said “ln |x| + c”. She was quite the hottie, too. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/16 "2015-03-15T12:25:41Z")
Could they have been in cahoots? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/17 "2015-03-15T14:05:20Z")
Hate to think what would have happened if he’d failed a spelling test! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/18 "2015-03-15T14:18:31Z")
> [@SJL4041](#): > > I’m against this test, since it means I would still be single. I blame William Faulkner. I still can’t keep laying and lying separate. Me neither. That’s one set of verbs I always have to look up/double check to make sure I’m using the correct one. And in speech, forget it. It’s just a guess, but nobody cares what verb I use in casual speech. Don’t know why, but that rule just doesn’t stick to my brain. I can call up fine details of AP Style and the such without needing the reference book, but those two words I always have to look up. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/19 "2015-03-15T15:19:58Z")
I’m also interested in the part, later in the same article, where another bride had her groom go into a seizure and collapse at the altar. As he was being rushed to the hospital, she supposedly asked one of the wedding guests to step in and marry her. That seems either awfully convenient or awfully odd, at least to this Westerner’s eyes. Could it be that she, too, wasn’t happy with the arranged marriage custom, knew someone she actually _was_ interested in (or loved), that person was invited to the wedding, and she took advantage of the moment to marry her own choice? Seems there’s more to that story than the few sentences relegated to it explain. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995/20 "2015-03-15T15:37:08Z")
> [@SJL4041](#): > > I still can’t keep laying and lying separate. Hey, neither could my ex! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groom-failsd-math-test-wedding-off/714995.md?page=2)