Three men and a hotel room
Here's a brain teaser. Three men rent a hotel room which costs $30. But after they've checked in, the manager discovers he's made an error. The room was only $25. He goes up with five ones to give them. The men are appreciative of the refund but to make things simpler they each take a dollar and tip him the remaining two bucks. Since each man received a dollar back, they've now only paid $9 each for the room, not $10. Yet, if we add 9+9+9 we get $27. Then there is the two the manager received. That makes $29. Yet the total was originally $30.
Where is the other dollar? (Answer in comments)
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
It turns out, it's all in the telling:
ReplyDeleteThe trick to this is to simply understand the question better. There really is no missing dollar. Twenty-five went for the room, three for the men and two for the manager. That equals $30. Adding it up the other way is simply obfuscation. Between the tip and the room, the men spent $27. They got three back. That's $30.