The widely accepted answer is eight, but getting there means counting more than the damage. Start with the shirt’s normal openings: one for the neck, one at the bottom, and one for each arm. That gives you four before considering either tear. The puzzle’s intended interpretation is that both visible rips pass through the front and back of the garment. Each therefore contributes two separate openings in the fabric, adding another four to the count.
That distinction is the entire trick—and the reason a seemingly effortless question can spark such determined disagreement. If the tears affected only the front, the same counting method would produce six instead. Eight depends on the corresponding holes at the back. What makes the puzzle satisfying is not complicated mathematics, but the moment you reconsider your assumptions: an ordinary garment suddenly becomes a reminder that the details we overlook can completely change an answer.
