What color are my pants?

I was reminded today of a bet that my mom decided to wager with me when I was about 11. The bet was over the answer to that question.

Being 11 years old, I obviously didn't buy my own pants, and one day my mom presented me with a new (to me) pair of dress pants.

They were purple.

She said they were blue.

Now, no self-respecting 11-year-old would dare walk into church (or anywhere) with purple pants on. Not unless he were receiving money in exchange for wearing those pants.

No, the money wasn't technically mine yet, but I knew it would be. See, my mom was so sure those pants were blue that she bet me $5 that I couldn't get two people to agree that they were purple. If two people agreed they were purple, I could also get rid of the pants.

Just one hang-up: when I asked my friends at church what color they were, I couldn't give them any options and couldn't tell them what color I happened to think they were. I just had to ask the simple question, "What color are my pants?"

That afternoon I was $5 richer and (thankfully) one pair of pants poorer.