A family has newly moved into the area. A neighbor asks the parents how old their three girls are. The father answers that the product of their ages is 36 and, pointing to his car, adds that the sum of their ages equals the first two digits in his license plate number. After a short struggle with pen and paper the neighbor says he needs more information. He is then told that the oldest daughter loves strawberry ice cream. "Oh, now I understand," says the neighbor, who promptly comes up with the right answer. What are the ages of the three children, and how did the strawberry ice cream hint give it away?
