wu :: forums - Print Page


    
      
        wu :: forums
        (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        riddles >> what happened >> Where is the other dollar?
        
(Message started by: Adnama on Aug 12^th, 2004, 9:50am)

Title: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Adnama on Aug 12^th, 2004, 9:50am

I tried to search, but it kept saying there was a server error, so sorry if this is a repeat . . .

Three men go into a hardware store to buy a $30 lawnmower. They each have only a $10 bill which they give to the cashier. However, the cashier informs the men that the lawnmower is on sale for $25 and asks how they would like her to split the change of $5 between them. None of the men want change, so they ask her to give each of them a dollar back and she can keep the other $2. So, each man has paid $9 for the lawnmower. $9 x 3 men equals $27. Add the $2 that the cashier kept and you have $29. Where is the other dollar?

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by towr on Aug 12^th, 2004, 10:45am

on 08/12/04 at 09:50:35, Adnama wrote:

I tried to search, but it kept saying there was a server error, so sorry if this is a repeat . . .

You probably wouldn't have found it even if the search function was working well. This riddle (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=riddles_easy;action=display;num=1082504673;start=0) is usually stated with three men renting a motel room, rather than buying a lawnmower. :)

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Grimbal on Aug 16^th, 2004, 6:15am

The first time I heard the riddle, it was a restaurant bill.

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Speaker on Aug 17^th, 2004, 1:10am

The first time I heard it, it was a hotel bill, with the bellboy pocketing 2 dollars.

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by evergreena3 on Aug 18^th, 2004, 2:08pm

The first time I heard it, I was 4 years old.
(I'm 27 now)

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by BNC on Aug 19^th, 2004, 1:39am

on 08/18/04 at 14:08:34, evergreena3 wrote:

The first time I heard it, I was 4 years old.
(I'm 27 now)

And the first time I heard it, you were (-4)...

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Grimbal on Aug 21^st, 2004, 3:44pm

So, in year 4 before evergreena3, was it a restaurant bill, a motel bill, or something else?

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by BNC on Aug 21^st, 2004, 10:21pm

restaurant bill... but it's all the same anyway...

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Grimbal on Feb 25^th, 2005, 3:45pm

I have an old german book printed in spring 1941 that contains this riddle. The first edition is in 1921, but I could have been added later.

There, it is already a restaurant bill. Three men pay 10 "Krone" each, but the meal costs only 25, so the waiter takes 2 as a tip and returns one Krone to each.

If we ever manage to find that missing coin, is there any chance to return it to its owner? :-/

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by jenniegurl on Jun 26^th, 2005, 8:12am

I still dont get this riddle. :-[

a while ago i read something about it being like this; these men go to a restaurant and they realize their meal only cost $25 so they each got a dollar back and gave the waiter a $2 tip. but how does that make sensE??

see, when they gave the guys a dollar each back, it wasnt the same as if they each paid $9, was it? aaah somebody please explain.

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Grimbal on Jun 26^th, 2005, 9:02am

If each paid $10 and got $1 back, in the end they paid $9 each.

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Icarus on Jun 26^th, 2005, 12:48pm

The correct distribution of the original $30 dollars is: $25 for the bill, $2 for the waiter/clerk/bellhop/whatever, $3 dollars for the 3 men. After their refunds, the men paid in a total of $27. $2 out of that $27 went to the person, and the remaining $25 paid the bill.

The riddle purposefully turns this around by adding the $2 to the $27, when in fact the $2 are from the $27.

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by xyz on Jun 26^th, 2005, 12:55pm

[hide]I used algebra and got:
Let x be price($25)
Let y be price paid($30)
3(y / 3 - 1) + 2 = y - 1
3(1/3y - 1) + 2 = y - 1
y - 3 + 2 = y - 1
y - 1 = y - 1
What I'm thinking is that it should be:
3(y / 3 - 1) - 2 = x
y - 3 - 2 = x
As y = 30 and x = 25, y - 5 = x.[/hide]

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by cheesepuff on Oct 29^th, 2005, 9:44pm

Its all a matter of doing the math in a different way then they told you

Title: Re: Where is the other dollar?
Post by Cristal on Nov 10^th, 2005, 8:45pm

It makes perfect sense... If 3 men gave $10 = $30
And it's on sale for $25 so then there would be $5 left.
Each man got $1 back... $5-$3=$2 which the cashier keeps. And there isn't another dollar... Keep the $2 cause it's part of the $27... right? Wow I'm soo confused. I need some sleep :-[ ok bye now.