Friday Riddle

nudgie
nudgie Member Posts: 1,478 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Remember NO googling or searching the internet for the answer. Good luck !

RIDDLE: Three friends check into a motel for the night and the clerk tells them the bill is $30, payable in advance. So, they each pay the clerk $10 and go to their room. A few minutes later, the clerk realizes he has made an error and overcharged the trio by $5. He asks the bellhop to return $5 to the 3 friends who had just checked in. The bellhop sees this as an opportunity to make $2 as he reasons that the three friends would have a tough time dividing $5 evenly among them; so he decides to tell them that the clerk made a mistake of only $3, giving a dollar back to each of the friends. He pockets the leftover $2 and goes home for the day! Now, each of the three friends gets a dollar back, thus they each paid $9 for the room which is a total of $27 for the night. We know the bellhop pocketed $2 and adding that to the $27, you get $29, not $30 which was originally spent. Where did the other dollar go????

Comments

  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #2
    Easy
    Uncle Sam!

    I think it's like that counting backwards thing and having what seems like 11 toes*.
    If you start on one foot and subtract by counting 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, then add the 5 toes you have on the other foot you come up with 11 toes. Same idea I think, there really isn't a missing $1.


    *sorry if I offended anyone with 11 toes.
  • KATE58
    KATE58 Member Posts: 299
    #3
    PhillieG said:

    Easy
    Uncle Sam!

    I think it's like that counting backwards thing and having what seems like 11 toes*.
    If you start on one foot and subtract by counting 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, then add the 5 toes you have on the other foot you come up with 11 toes. Same idea I think, there really isn't a missing $1.


    *sorry if I offended anyone with 11 toes.

    BUT IF YOU SUBTRACT $5 FROM
    BUT IF YOU SUBTRACT $5 FROM $30,YOU GET $25,ADD THE $1 GIVEN BACK TO EACH OF THE 3 FRIENDS,
    YOU GET $28,THEN ADD THE $2 THE BELLHOP KEPT,-- YOU DO GET $30.

    DON'T KNOW WHY IT DOESN'T WORK THE OTHER WAY
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    #4
    Do Tell...
    I've got to agree with Kate on this one. Thought I would play but must still be fogged in on the Longhorns loss in the Championship last night.

    I'll tune in to see the answer for this one - good one Nudgie.

    Maybe the bell hop pocketed the extra BUCK :) That makes $30, lol

    -Craig
  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    #5
    Negative cash.
    But the $2 pocketed by the bell-hop is included in the $27 paid by the three friends, so it is negative money for the hotel, and when summed with $27, actually gives $25.

    --Greg
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #6
    KATE58 said:

    BUT IF YOU SUBTRACT $5 FROM
    BUT IF YOU SUBTRACT $5 FROM $30,YOU GET $25,ADD THE $1 GIVEN BACK TO EACH OF THE 3 FRIENDS,
    YOU GET $28,THEN ADD THE $2 THE BELLHOP KEPT,-- YOU DO GET $30.

    DON'T KNOW WHY IT DOESN'T WORK THE OTHER WAY

    - & +
    It's a trick that happens when you mix subtraction and addition together.
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #7
    I don't know!
    Makes my head hurt! *L*

    *hugs*
    Gail

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