The Only one assumption can be made in the Nursery Rhyme "As I was going to St. Ives" and that is that one person was definitely going there - or was it? It, of course, would depend on the direction of the people that were encountered on the way! This type of conundrum is now referred to as a logic problem in lateral thinking designed to improve the logic and deductive skills of children, and indeed, adults! (As I was going to St. Ives refers to the name of a quaint old village in Cornwall, England) Earliest traceable publication date is 1730.

The Answer to the Riddle - Only one man was going to St.Ives!

He met the following but they were going the other way:

A man (1) with 7 wives

7 x 7 (49) sacks

7x7x7 (343) cats

7x7x7x7 (2,401) kits

A Total of 2,801 wives, sacks cats and kits!