Three elderly men were sitting side by side in a quiet doctor’s office, waiting for a routine memory test. The doctor explained that it was nothing serious, just a few simple questions to see how their minds were holding up. All three nodded, looking equally confident and equally nervous.

The doctor turned to the first man and asked gently, “What is three times three?”

The man stared at the ceiling, counted on his fingers, squinted hard, and finally answered with absolute certainty, “Two hundred seventy-four.”

The doctor paused, blinked once, and calmly wrote something down on his clipboard.

Next, he faced the second man. “Alright, your turn. What is three times three?”

The second man smiled warmly and replied without hesitation, “Tuesday.”

The doctor sighed quietly, adjusted his glasses, and made another note, clearly trying to stay professional.

Finally, he turned to the third man, who had been watching the whole thing with a knowing grin.

“Okay,” the doctor said, hopeful now. “Your turn. What is three times three?”

The third man leaned forward, thought carefully, and said proudly, “Nine.”

The doctor’s face lit up with relief. “Excellent! That’s correct,” he said. “Very good. And tell me, sir—how did you figure that out?”

The old man smiled even wider and replied, “Well, that was easy. I just took the first man’s answer, subtracted the second man’s answer… and what else could it be?”

The doctor frowned slightly. “And what exactly did you subtract?”

The man nodded confidently. “I subtracted 274 from Tuesday.”

The room went silent for a second—then everyone burst out laughing.