An old man walks onto a construction site looking for work. The foreman looks him up and down, clearly doubtful, then says, “I might have something for you… but first you need to pass a little math test.”

The old man shrugs. “Alright.”

The foreman smiles and says, “First question. Without using numbers, represent the number nine.”

“Without numbers?” the old man repeats. “That’s easy.”

He bends down and draws three trees in the dirt.

The foreman squints. “What is that supposed to be?”

The old man looks at him like he’s offended. “You don’t have a brain? Tree plus tree plus tree makes nine.”

The foreman pauses… then nods. “Fair enough.”

He clears his throat. “Second question. Same rules — but this time, represent the number ninety-nine.”

The old man stares into space for a long moment. Then he picks up the drawing of the three trees, adds a little smudge on each one, and hands it back.

The foreman scratches his head. “How on earth does that represent ninety-nine?”

The old man grins and says,
“Each tree is dirty now.”