The Fox, The Goose and The Grain

A farmer has to transport a fox, a goose, and some grain across a river.  He has a boat which he can row back and forth from shore to shore.  He can take himself and one other thing in the boat.  However, unless he is present, the goose will eat the grain and the fox will eat the goose.  How can he transport all three things across the river?


Every time I try to organize activities with my three kids, this logic problem comes to mind.  Or sometimes even plan a meal for that matter.  Kid A will eat this but not that, Kid B will eat this and that but not the other thing, Kid C won't eat anything except corn dogs.

This is my most recent version:

Mommy is working 8:30a-5:30p and absolutely cannot leave the office between 12:30p and 2:45p. Daddy has to work 12:00p-2:00p and then again at 5:00p.  Due to snow (that didn't happen) School for Kid A and Kid B is closing at 1:30p and Daycare for Kid C calls and is closing at 1:00p.  After-School Care for Kids A & B is still open but Grandma is not available as back up childcare for Kid C.  The 'simple' solution was that Kid C came to work with me for a few hours and wore out the battery on my iPod and my last strand of sanity while Kids A & B hung out at After School Care until Daddy could pick them up around 3:00p.  Then Mommy and Kid C were able to go home after 2:45p. 

They should have stressed to us in high school that these logic problems were not just fun brain teasers, they would be needed later in life, unlike vector calculus.