questions

Home / Shoelaces

Shoelaces

The point of this question is NOT to provide a number. The point is to observe the process the interviewee takes to approximate a response. The interviewee will provide factors that need to be considered if they were to calculate an actual numeric response.

How many shoelaces are there in Canada?

Solution

CLICK TO REVEAL

A potential solution would include the following considerations:

• The population of Canada
• Shoes have two laces

Often interviewees will stop after stating these two facts, a good answer could include the following:

• People have more than one pari of shoes
• Some shoes do not have laces
• There are shoes in stores and factories
• There are laces not yet in shoes

And some more advanced additions:

• Ther are lots of shoelaces in the garbage dump
• There are shoelaces in skates and rollerblades

Alternatives

I have often had students return to campus and express that they received the shoelace question in a job interview. This questions has many forms, but the principle is the same:

How many loaves of bread are there in Canada?

How many tires are there in Canada?

---