Caribou’s Dan Snaith has a doctorate in mathematics. So I followed up with him after our interview and presented him with the following word problem, for him to use his opaque math skills on. I told him if he answered correctly, he would receive a complimentary hot Rolfing session. Here’s the word problem:

A man has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn across a river. He has a rowboat, and it can only carry him and one other thing. If the fox and the chicken are left together, the fox will eat the chicken. If the chicken and the corn are left together, the chicken will eat the corn. How does the man do it?

The answer, Dan's response, and a poll about Dan's response after the jump.

Answer: The man and the chicken cross the river. He leaves the chicken there and goes back across. The man then takes the fox across the river, leaves the fox, and brings the chicken to the other side. He leaves the chicken there, and takes the corn across and leaves it with the fox. He then returns to pick up the chicken and heads across the river one last time.

Dan’s response: “Thank you. I appreciate you sharing that with me. You might be surprised to know that I have encountered that before.”

Now, I’m not sure if it’s the fox, the chicken, the sack of corn, and the river that Dan has encountered, or the hot Rolfing. But I awarded him a hot Rolfing session anyway.

Caribou plays Showbox at the Market on Wednesday, March 4, at 7:30 and 11 p.m.