## 7.

The following very simple problem is one of many entertaining problems that have gained widespread popularity. In a dark room stands a wardrobe, in the drawer of which there are 24 red and 24 blue socks. How many socks should be taken from the drawer to ensure that at least one pair of socks of the same color can be formed? (In this and the next problem, the question is about the smallest number of socks.)
7. Usually, the question of the problem is given an incorrect answer: 25 socks. If the problem asked how many socks should be taken from the drawer to ensure that at least 2 socks of different colors are among them, then the correct answer would indeed be such: 25 socks. But in our problem, the question is about ensuring that at least 2 socks of the same color are among the taken socks, so the correct answer to the problem is different: 3 socks. If I take 3 socks from the drawer, then they will either all be of the same color (in which case I will certainly be able to choose at least 2 socks of the same color from them), or 2 socks will be of the same color, and the third sock will be of a different color, which will also allow me to form a pair of socks of the same color.