Where could that dollar be?

Three men who have traveled far
Came to a place of rest
They rang the bell and called out loud
Our patience do not test

The heat of day did make us sweat
we tire, suffer and swelter
Our bodies ache, our clothes are wet
We are in need of shelter

Give us room with a bath
Oh keeper of this inn
What shall we pay, the charge we ask
Do your job and hurry the task
Our patience it grows thin

The desk clerk felt annoy
To me they speak so sharp
I'll charge them more, five dollars more
With my pride they will not toy

Thirty dollars, he blurted out
Thirty it will be
Thirty dollars to rest and wash
(he thought, Thirty to you crusty three)

And so they paid the price
laid it on the desk
laid it down and retired
To their room for wash and rest

(As time went on and night began to fall the desk clerk felt bad. He thought about what he did and decided to give the men their $5.00. So he called for the bell boy.)

Give them this and tell them that
I've erred and am sincere
In wishing them, from management,
"Enjoy your stay while here"

The bell hop took the five
and intended to return
But on his way to the room
He thought, the guests I'll burn

Burn them for it all...oh no
Only for a bit
I'll reimburse them only three
and keep the rest of it

So now that it has come to past
they paid nine dollars each
The bell hop kept two of those
Now logic goes to breach

Three times nine is twenty seven
add two in the bell hop's till
To me that adds to twenty nine
Where is that pesky bill ?

Composed on 4/2/03 by j6p

What I did is take a classic enigma and put it to rhyme. What it boils down to is this: Three men paid $30. for a room. The manager realizing that he overcharged them called the bellboy and had him return $5.00 to them. The bellboy was not very honest. He decided to give them $3.00 back and keep $2.00 for himself. So they actually paid $9.00 each and the bellhop kept $2.00. The math is: 3 X 9 = 27 and the bellhop's 2 = 29. Where did the dollar go?

I've been over and over this one and I have no Idea where the money is .
Did they donate it to that give me a dollar website ?
Where they near the Bermuda Triangle?
Maybe it was abducted .
Maybe you've got it . Have you got it J6 cause I haven't , and somebody must have it

ok

$30 is charged for the room

-$5 gave to bell boy

=$25 is left

if the bell boy has $5 and takes $2 he pays $3 back

so 3+2+25=$30

all the money is accounted for.

Yep Al but they all paid $10.00 each and then got a dollar each back which meant that they paid $9.00 each .

So $9.00 +$9.00 +$9.00 = $27.00
and $2.00 for the bell boy = $29.00 Oh sheesh it's torture . I still can't find that $1.00

If they paid a total of $30, and the bellhop returned to them $3, then they actually
paid a total of $28 between them.

The information in the text is wrong when it then leads you to think that they paid
$9 each plus the $3, when they actually paid $8.3333333 dollars each ($8.3333333
multiplied by 3 = $25) and then you can add the $3, making $28.




Actually I got it wrong... if he gave them back $3 then they paid $27, not $28 as I had
said above. Sheesh.

Okay so they paid $30 and the bellhop kept $2. So they paid $28. ($28 / 3 = 9.33333)

Awwwww what a nightmare... I'll stick to my dictionary...

Smarty

I suppose the real enigma is - why would 3 men want to share a room?


I've just had another thought - if the manager gave back $5, then the room only
cost $25. So that's $8.333333 dollars a piece - add back the dollar given to each
of the men, that's $9.3333 dollars each.

$9.3333 dollars x 3 = $28.

Add on the bell hop's $2 and you get $30.

there are three men, each pay $10 = $30,


the bell boy is given $5 to give back to them,


he keeps $2,


he gives them back $3 = $1 each

sorted.

ok Al I think you are right but then LB is right too. I think that you two have the right idea but are explaining it in a different way. All I know is that I never knew the answer and probably would have never known if it werent for you two!!!

Anyone got change for a penny?

Al had it right the first time, and no further math is required.
Lets say that the three men had only $10 each total, so that $30 is all we’re dealing with. They give ALL of their money to the keeper, which is $30, leaving their pockets empty. The keeper takes $25 and gives the bell boy the $5 difference($30=25keeper + 5bell boy). The bell boy keeps $2 for himself and gives $3 back to the three men($30=25keeper + 2bell boy + 3guests). Then three men divide the change so that they each get $1($30=25keeper + 2bell boy + 3three guests).

I fail to understand the difficulty of 2nd or 3rd grade math.

So Al’s original post on this should have explained it, as he was completely correct.

Schadeux, I could help you out but you will have to pay me far more than a single cent for any of my half-penny coins.

I could also convert your penny into another currency and do it that way.

Furthermore, some countries allow their legal tender to be split in half and retain their value.

So yes, I can make change for your penny.

Thanks, SM! I'll take 1/2 in yen, 1/4 in Rubles, 1/8 in Marks, 1/8 in Wumpum, and let the three dudes at the hotel explain it to the bank.


Al had the simplest explanation.


US will allow full value for 2/3 of a legal tender bill, but you have to prove the other 1/3 was destroyed beyond all recognition (burned to ash), and then redeemed only by the US Treasury dept. BUT! How does one prove the burnt up ash was the other 1/3 of the bill???

The fact is they paid 27$ for the room, they got the 3$ change from 30, wheres the problem?