Riddle Me This

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GanjaGuru

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3 men on a business trip go to a hotel to get rooms.
But the hotel only has 1 room left, and all the other hotels in town are booked soild.
The manager says "if you want I can have 2 roll-a-beds put in that last room and you can all stay there"
So the men say ok, how much? and the manager says $30.00 and each man hands the manager a $10 dollar bill.
Later the manager feels a bit guilty. He usually only charges $25 a night for that room, so he hands the bellhop five $1 biils and says "Give this back to the guys in room 212".
So the bellhop is walking to the room trying to figure out how to split 5 dollars up 3 ways. He gets an idea. He gives each man back a dollar and keeps the other 2 dollars for himself.
Ok, if each man paid 10 dollars for the room and each got a dollar back that means it cost them 9 dollars each, right?
3 x $9 = $27.
The bell hop has $2. $27 + $2 = $29.
What happened to the other dollar?
 
I've been trying to figure this out for about 10 mins now.
 
I had to think about that one long and hard, I'm no good at math. That should be a G.E.D. question.
Homeboy has his 2 bucks.
The desk clerk has his 25 bucks.
The dudes got back 3 bucks.

that makes $30 right? I think. I had to write out the numbers to figure it out.
 
OK so I think I got it...

The three men paid 10 each right? That = 30.00
When the bellhop returns he gives each man 1.00.

The Bell hop has 2.00

The manager has 25.00.

So thats 1.00 + 1.00 + 1.00 + 2.00 + 25.00 = 30.00
 
Makes sense to me, but i did go to public school in TN. for a while!!
 
The bell hop has $2. $27 + $2 = $29.

That was the false statement in the riddle. It shouldn't be +, but -, because you're trying calculate the amount that the manager has, not the initial amount.

So they all payed 9, right? But included in that 9 is the two that the bellhop took. Thus 27-2= 25.
 
I'm no good at math. I stared at this for about 10 minutes until I got a headache. I knew something was wrong with the equation but my brain lacks the ability to work through it right now.
 
Transaction #1:

3 men, 10 bucks each. total of 30 bucks for the room.
End transaction

Transaction #2
Manager gives bellhop 5 bucks to return to room 212.
End Transaction

Transaction #3
Bellhop gives 3 dollars to the room, and keeps 2 for himself.
End transaction

so the only way to make this work is to make so a dollar isn't missing is.
Men pay $30.
A $5 dollar refund is given.
The fact the Bellhop stole the money, and the men split for the room is besides the point.
 
Yeah many of you nailed it. It's the way the equasion is stated.
But an interesting mental exercise, no?
I remember posing this question many years ago to this girl who was very smart, a math major already attending college at 15 years old. She wouldn't accept it when I told her there was no missing dollar and actually started hitting me when I "wouldn't tell her the real answer".
 
ouch...

shrug.gif
 

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