can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

Alvatorre74 Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:25 PM

can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

3 men go into a motel. The desk clerk said the room was $30, so each man paid $10 and went to the room. A while later, the desk clerk realized the room was only $25, so he sent the bellboy to the 3 guys' room with $5. On the way, the bellboy couldn't figure out how to split $5 evenly between 3 men, so he gave each man $1 and kept the other $2 for himself. This meant that the 3 men each paid $9 for the room, which is a total of $27. Add to that the $2 the bellboy kept and the total is $29. Where is the other dollar

Misty Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:29 PM

Re: can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

Great, now I am going to be thinking about this all night.

SomedayBride Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:30 PM

Re: can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

I found this explanation online:
Here is the explanation of the riddle:

You're not trying to find the thirty dollars - you're trying to find twenty five dollars - the 3 guys paid thirty, minus the 3 they got back, minus the 2 in the bellboy's pocket - you're not supposed to add them when he gives it back because it's still part of the same thirty.
OR to put it another way: The room only cost 25 bucks so they paid 25/3= $8.33, not $10. They got $1 back each so all together they paid $9.33 times 3= $28. The worker guy gets $2 so it becomes $30.

The trick is the math problem is worded so it mixes outlay (what they paid) and income (what they got back) in such a way as to make the problem unsolvable without stating it in a different way. Con men have used this trick for over a hundred years to get store owners and cashiers to give them the wrong (too much) change.

Xelindrya Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:35 PM

Re: can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

actually yes

I know this.

gimme a sec I'll write it out.

Xelindrya Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:45 PM

Re: can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

Hrmm, explanation but here’s what I have figured, by myself. Same concept different logic.

(do I have to remind anyone about my odd way of thinking in math? – jannshari?)

If each paid $10 each for the room then that’s 30
Figured then to be $25 leaving $5 change.

Change comes back for $5
1st dollar – given to Guy A
2nd dollar – Given to Guy B
3rd dollar – Given to Guy C
4th dollar – Kept by Bellman
5th dollar – Kept by Bellman

There’s no missing money.

I've seen this same question asked about a Pizza bill gone wrong.

As far as how does it work on how much each paid use the other math.. 25/3 which is what she said.. just worded in my weird Ronie minded way.

SweetCin704 Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:52 PM

Re: can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

RONIE....ONLY U.

Xelindrya Posted: Oct 28, 2003 05:53 PM

Re: can someone tell me the answer to this riddle..please

Oh by the way.. theres more in my twisted mind.

If you took the $25 final bill and add back in the men's keep and the bell cap its still $30.
(25+2+3=30)

and there's no way the men paid $9 each for the room ONLY since that's already $2 over what the charge of the room was.. why? because they originally never paid for a bell cap in that $10

So they really had to ADD back in the $2 for the bell cap to the charge of the room $25 and then divide by 3. So 25+2= 27 and 27 divided by 3 is then $9 (for room & bell cap).

Sorry math stuff makes my brain go round and round