[PUZZLE] CLASSIC: Missing Money
After a long day on the road, 3 guys decide to stay at a hotel. The come across this old hotel, and decide to stop to see how much it would cost.
They get to the desk, and ring the bell. A bleary-eyed desk clerk peaks his head out of the cubby hole he was resting in.
yawn "What can I do for you 3 gentlemen tonight?"
Jake, the foreman, responds "How much would it cost for a room?"
"30 bucks per room for the night"
Well, they all knew that wouldn't do, as they only had $30 between all 3 of them. A lightbulb apears above Jakes head
"We'll take one room for the 3 of us"
The desk clerk decided it wasn't his business, so signed them in, took $10.00 from each of them, and gave them the room key
"Breakfast is served 5:30AM-8:00AM"
"Thanks," Jake replies.
Now, after the guys left, the desk clerk got to thinking, "the boss man lowered the rates! It should have only been $25.00 for the night!"
He hands 5 dollar bills to the bell boy to get to the guys.
On his way to the room, the bell boy get's to thinking, "I can't split 5 ones amongst 3 guys," and pockets 2 dollars.
When he gets to the room, he gives each man $1.00 and goes on his merry way.
Now comes the fun part.
If the bell boy gave them each a buck, that means they paid $9.00 each, right?
$9.00 x 3 = $27.00
Plus the 2 ones in the bell boys pocket = $29.00
Where's the other dollar?
Join the Discussion
The answer: It's wacky math. The money is all there, but you aren't doing the math in the proper order (PEMDAS)
Answer: You're counting the $2 the bell boy pocketed twice. The correct calculation is $9 x 3 guys = $27 | THEN add the $1 returned to each guy. 27 + 3 = 30. Because the bell boy took the money from the total we're saying was charged from the room not the total returned to the customers.