Conundrum: What happened to £1?
The Riddler
Three friends went for a
meal. At the end of the evening, each
contributed £10 to the bill which came to £25.
They gave the waiter a £2 tip and each received £1 change:
So: they’d each
contributed £9. ~ £9x3 = £27
They gave a Tip to the waiter
£ 2
Total = £29
The guys started with £30
So whose got the difference?
Drop your explanation into the comments section...
Nice try Len, one of my many jobs was auditing so I have seen lots of "Iffy" accounting. The key to this is the cost of the meal which has been left out of the equation. Cost of meal £25 Tip £2 = £27 3x£9 = £27
ReplyDeleteno £1 missing.
That's correct Peter, kinda killed it dead in the water. It depends which angle you approach the problem from.
DeleteDon't understand Peter's reasoning AT ALL. Surely the cost of the meal was £25.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been SO much simpler if the tight b's had given the waiter a tip of £3 - £1 each!
Janet, it is simply identifying the known facts, your reasoning would simply throw up a £2 surplus. Fact 1 meal £25 fact 2 they gave a tip of £2 fact 3 they each contributed £9. The original fact of £30 is irrelevant because they had £1 each returned. Do you see it now?
ReplyDeleteMy mind just doesn't work like that - good job I'm not an accountant, dodgy or otherwise.
ReplyDelete