Are you stumped by this crossword clue? Find out the answer to ‘Post hoc, ___ propter hoc’!

Once upon a time, there was a group of animals in the forest who were searching for the cause of a mysterious illness that had struck them all. They huddled around a clue that read, “Post hoc, ___ propter hoc” on a piece of paper to help them solve the mystery.

The animals were confused by the phrase and wondered what it meant. One wise owl stepped forward and explained, “It’s a logical fallacy that assumes that just because one thing follows another, the first thing caused the second thing.”

Aha! The animals all understood now. They realized that they had fallen into this trap when trying to find the cause of their illness. They had assumed that because they had all eaten some mushrooms before getting sick, the mushrooms must have caused their illness. But in reality, they had all caught a virus that happened to be going around at the same time as they had eaten the mushrooms.

Feeling clever, the animals solved the puzzle and wrote the answer “ERGO” into the crossword. They thanked the wise owl for their insight and went on their way, taking care never to fall into the post hoc, ergo propter hoc trap again. The end.