# Where is the dollar?

## Main Question or Discussion Point

3 Men Go Into A Motel. The Man Behind The
Desk Said The Room Is $30 So Each Man Paid$10 And Went To The Room.

A While Later The Man Behind The Desk
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 A$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 The$2 That The Bellboy
Kept = $29. Where Is The Other Dollar? ## Answers and Replies uart Science Advisor The net amount paid by each man was$9.00 (making a total of 3x9 = $27.00 paid). The net amount received by the hotel staff is also$27.00 ($2.00 by the Bellboy plus$25.00 by the guy at the desk). So where exactly is the supposed the discrepency?

dst
This is a variation of the $100 bank problem (a man deposits money into the bank, each time he counts his remaining balance, etc which adds up to$99 even though he had $100). Adding the$2 that the bellboy kept is fallacious for the reason above. The hotel kept $27 and returned$3, so the men paid $9 each. That adds up to$30.

The men each paid US$9 for the room or US$27 total. The hotel got US$25 and the bellboy got US$2. 25 + 2 = 27. It's a trick question and the 30 is not the goal. Or you can say each man initially paid US$10 and had US$1 returned to them. 30 - 3 = 27 = 25 + 2.

cristo
Staff Emeritus