Three men check into a cheap motel, and to save money, they decided to share a room. The clerk said the room would be $30 for the night, so each man pulled out $10 and handed it to her.
The men go to their room and just a few minutes later the clerk knocks on their door to tell them she accidentally overcharged for their room; it was supposed to be $25. So, she had five ones and handed each man $1 and then they told her to keep the change.
Okay, here we go. The men originally spent $10 a piece for their room, but then, the clerk handed each man a $1 bill and of course they told her to keep $2 of the refund she was giving them. From an easy math perspective, each man originally invested $10 in the room but with getting a dollar, back their investment dropped to $9 or $27 total, plus the two dollars they gave away to the clerk. That's $29 dollars total so what happened to the other dollar?
The answer is below but please attempt to figure it out on your own for the mental exercise. Thanks!
Answer:
The rationale for the confusion above, is one of the reasons people come up with opposing views which are both true depending upon how someone pitches it. I clearly showed that the dollar was missing but all someone would need to do is come at it from a different angle, and he or she would have a strong argument. In other words, she kept $25 for the room, but she gave three dollars to the guys, and she kept two dollars, this clearly demonstrates the dollar isn't missing because it adds up to $30. But someone could also prove a dollar is missing. How's your mind doing? 😎