HelenW Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 I have just been given this puzzle and it is doing my head in, cos I can't work it out. See if any of you guys can enlighten me. 3 men rent a hotel room for the night and the cost is $30. They split the bill equally and pay $10 each. The receptionist realises that he has charged the wrong price, and that the bill should have been $25. he sends the bell boy to give the $5 change to the 3 men. the bell boy realises that he can not split $5 equally between 3 men so gives them $1 each and keeps the extra $2. each man paid $9 each in the end. 3 x 9 = 27. The bell boy kept $2. 27 + 2 = 29. so where did the extra dollar go? Let me know if you can solve it, cos it's got me stumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Feral Chicken Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 Technically they paid $25 and got $1 each, making $3 total. $25+$3=$28. The bell boy took $2. $28+$2=$30, so there is no extra dollar. ------------------ Feral Signatures & Imaging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brief Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 Heh. I used to use this problem as an exmple of misdirection on a few other places. Let's put it another way for the solution... The men originally paid $30, and received $3 back, making their total $27 ($30 - $3 = $27). The bell hop kept $2, which is part of what the men paid, not what they got back. They also paid for the room, which is $25. Therefore: <table><tr><th> </th><th><font size="1">Room</font></th><th></th><th><font size="1">Bell hop</font></th><th></th><th><font size="1">Change</font></th><th></th><th><font size="1">Total</font></th></tr><tr align="center"><td></td><td><font size="2">$25</font></td><td><font size="2">+</font></td><td><font size="2">$2</font></td><td><font size="2">+</font></td><td><font size="2">$3</font></td><td><font size="2">=</font></td><td><font size="2">$30</font></td></tr></table> ------------------ "It's simplicity within itself!" --Sherlock Holmes [This message has been edited by brief (edited August 31, 2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenW Posted September 1, 2001 Author Share Posted September 1, 2001 CLINK! (sound of penny dropping) I had just figured it out, but Brief posted the explaination before I did. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Feral Chicken Posted September 1, 2001 Share Posted September 1, 2001 *ahem* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storken Posted September 1, 2001 Share Posted September 1, 2001 Hey, that's not the end of the story. There's a second part too when they come back to the hotel and then the missing dollar shows up and stuff. ------------------ "the storks are listening" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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