While on my way to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks;
Each sack had seven cats;
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, wives;
How many were going to St. Ives?
(In reply to
All possible solutions by Hank)
solutions you missed: when it is said "how many were going to Saint Ives" it could be considered that this means living beings... therefore there are several other possible answers:
2753 - all living beings, meaning everything "going" excluding the sacks
9 - you, the man, his seven wives; meaning all human beings going
in other words, this problem has many interpretations that could be taken in many ways, whether you were right with any answer depends on if you are an optimist or a pessimest.