Many adults still feel intimidated by math, assuming they’ll only ever need basic arithmetic in daily life. But a British dad recently went viral after struggling to solve a simple division problem while helping his child with homework: 861 ÷ 4.
The father shared on Reddit that he was teaching his primary school child long division (also called vertical division) and followed the common DMSB method—Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down—step by step. Despite this, his answer didn’t match the correct result.
He calculated a quotient of 215 with a remainder of 0.1, but the correct remainder should have been 0.25, leaving him puzzled: “Where did I go wrong?”
Reddit users quickly offered guidance: “You did everything right up to the remainder of 1, but that remainder isn’t 0.1—it should be divided by 4 to get 0.25,” and “A remainder of 1 is 1/4, which as a decimal is 0.25. Just continue the division to convert the remainder.” Others sympathized, noting, “Seeing an adult struggle with such simple math is a bit sad—but relatable!”
