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Once upon a time, three traveling salesmen were walking along a long stretch of road, trying (in vain) to peddle their wares. As the sun began to set, the weary salesmen began to look for a place to rest for the night, when they stumbled upon a hotel.
"How much for a room?" they asked the owner.
"Thirty dollars a night," he replied.
So the salesmen each handed the owner a ten and took the key.
A short time later, the owner had a change of heart. It looks like the salesmen are down on their luck. I'll give them $5 back.
Thinking this, he quickly called the bellhop, and gave him a five, instructing him to give it to the salesmen.
Well, the bellhop thought, They don't know they're getting a rebate. Besides, five dollars is hard to divide among three people. I'll just give them each a dollar, and keep two for myself. That way, everyone's happy, and I get a nice tip.
So that's what he did.
Now for the question:
Since the salesmen each ORIGINALLY paid $10 for the room, and each got back $1, their costs were $9 apiece.
3 x 9 = 27.
Add the $2 the bellhop kept, and you get $29.
What happened to the other dollar???
Comments
Taxes
Simple, the long arm of the tax collector, into the pockets of the bellhop's uniform. There's no escaping their due. Sigh.
What Other Dollar?
The salesmen paid $27. The owner got $25, and the bellhop kept $2. It adds up.
^Add^Subtract the $2 the bellhop kept, and you get $^29^25.
-- Daphne Xu
The two transactions are unrelated
The question isn't about a missing dollar. The five dollars are accounted for in the disbursement which is unrelated to the original rental. If the three salesmen paid $9 each to begin with they would each have saved one dollar. That plus the two dollars the bellhop kept equals the five dollars.. or to look at it another way the discount was five dollars off thirty or twenty five dollars but if the original price was 27 dollars then the new rebate would have been the two dollars the bellhop kept
Commentator
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A wonderful distraction
Many cons have successfully used the same "logic" to extract money from unsuspecting punters.
Yeah, it reminds me of this grift
Grifter: "Pardon me, but do you have change for a ten? Say two twenties?"
Rube: "Sure. Here you go."
Grifter: "Thanks."
Later on...
Grifter:"On second thought, I changed my mind. Can I have my ten back, please?"
Net result: Grifter - +$40, Rube - confused as hell...
*Kisses Always*
Haylee V
Catch'em...
Catch'em during the moment they're startled, and can't think straight.
-- Daphne Xu
Lets do the math :)
There is no missing money,
Money the salesmen spend: ((10x3)-3)=27
Money the innkeeper is paid, along with the money the bellboy steals: ((30-5)+2)=27
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
Missing dollar
It's presented incorrectly, the salesmen paid $28 not $27 and hopefully the bellhop didn't get any other tip because he certainly didn't deserve one.
30-3=27
30-3=27 -- the salesmen paid $27; that part was correct.
-- Daphne Xu