Answer OK guys I'll try my version of the answer. Actually they paid $27.00 out of poket ((10-1)x3)=27. And $25 out of $27 goes to hotel and $2 to Belly Boy.
Stranded Salesmen: Of course all who stated $8.33 are correct. Just one of those examples, as Mr. Blackwood's MIT test, that mix and hide the facts in easy presumptions, which make a formula resolution incorrect. It goes unstated, that all who broke it down,(though it didn't take that much to break it down) go to the basic facts and are not swayed by the verbage. as a run-on side note: McCards, said he heard it 35 years ago, and yes, it's still being vehemently argued everyday across the country over CB's. And Prospect showed the simplest way to recognize it. At least, that's the way I approached it, when I first heard it.
Re-read your original post Sorry Mr. noman, but I must disagree. You never asked what the room cost - only what happened to the "extra dollar" and "where did it go", so $8.33 can not be a correct answer. As inferred in the title of my reply and as explictly stated by Mr. Rookie789, there is no extra dollar - an irrelevant question. I must also disagree with calling it a tip - it was not given by the salemen, it was stolen by the bell boy! As an aside to your original "questions" though, the room did "cost" each saleman $9 - regardless of what the quoted rate was. The hotel got $25 and the bell boy pocketed $2. The Count
The Real Answer Noman, My good friend, Although $8.33 each is close ($24.99) to what the desk clerk received as room rent, it is not the correct answer to the question as you posted it. With your gift of making the written word as colorful as a rainbow, the language you use must be taken verbatim. Count de McArds is correct, the correct answer is; 1) $25 actual room rent 2) $2 stolen by the bell boy (not a tip) 3) $3 refund to the salemen Looking forward to tipping a brew with you Friday at the IP/Vegas.
Lost and abanded and jived Salemen Rookie: Yes McCards and Prospect hit it right on. Truth be told, I never heard or knew the correct book answer to this. But those two's approach is correct and also Norm's evaluation, that if the base cost was $25, it only cost each 8.33 yadda yadda yadda. It could be, that all of us are still mish en formed. There is no water in Casablanca. Point still "being," just as in the Mr. Blackwood MIT Test, what side of the problem did you come at it from. And ultimately there is, never was a missing dollar. But, believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear and in some cases, not a lot of what you read. And Beer! We don't drink no stinking beer! Wellllllllll. But licher is quicker.
Dollar is still there! The orignal question was: What happened to the extra dollar? Answer: Nothing, it is still there. The problem was: Three salesmen pay $10 each for a room ($30 paid for one room), clerk found he over charged by $5. He sends the bellboy over with the $5 for the three men. The bellboy decide to keep $2 and give each of the men back $1 each ($3 total) to make it an easier split between the three men. Okay there is the $30, no extra dollar lost! Where they try to mess you up is 3 X $10 = $30 and then they want you to think it should be able to divide evenly (into dollars) when the $5 is refunded. The bellboy could have just given back the full $5 to the salesmen and then they split it as close as they can $1.66 each if they were that worried about the other two dollars, but reguardless the full $30 is accounted for.
Darn It! McCards, I responded to Mr. Rookie, before seeing your post. Whether you take 8.33 or 27, or 29, or tip or advantage play. It still comes down to the fact. $30 dollars was put up. No mo, no less. We're not working with imaginary numbers here. The way the question is asked, whether, according to Rookie, it's my rainbow way, or from Martin Gardner, we are still working with $30. The $30 is accounted for. Not one dollar, not one cent disappeared. We all can argue about the Salesmen's EV or Vig, or whatever you want to call it, the overwhelming point is $30 is $30 and was and is accounted for no matter how it's twisted.
35 years and still wrong ? Noman I appreciate you stepping up and agreeing the 8.33 is the correct answer. The thing that I find most amusing is the the Count (my new friend ) who called me the bell boy and now say the bell boy stole it. So is he calling me a Felon ? There have been others in this town that once did that. They will be seeing the judge real soon .Are we to believe that the Count wants his day in court also. He says he has seen this problem 35 years ago .One with think with 35 years to work out a problem he would at least get it right :joker: Casinos were never known for hiring the brightest light bulbs They only put them in their bright signs to lure the SUCKERS in :laugh:
Rookie reveals the trick Rookie, Count de McArds and Prospect got it right. Of the original $30 (unbalanced card counters must visualize it as all $1 bills ), the desk clerk kept 25, the bellboy kept 2 and the salesmen got back 3; thus (with no befuddling advanced MIT math such as multiplication and division ) 25 + 2 + 3 = 30. But in all of this no one has challenged the $29 figure, which is the basis of the “missing dollar”. Rookie (still not wanting to rain on Noman’s parade) alluded to it in his post 4 days ago, hence my title of this post. Of course, it was $27 including the $2 the bellboy stole. Adding it is the fallacy in the question. To wit: Now, does anyone know how the farmer got the chicken, fox and sack of grain across the river? :joker:
Missing $1??? Read carefully!!! I first heard this one about 45 years ago (damn, I'm showing my age:laugh: ) from my dad, although not quite as noman put it. Most recently, it was asked of me by my young, whipper snapper, recent college grad, nephew who thought he could put one over on the "old" uncle. I quickly gave him a lesson you don't learn in school. The real answer to this question is that the question itself draws a false conclusion: WRONG! $27 was paid by the salesmen for EVERYTHING. $25 was paid to the motel and $2 went to the bellboy. The question assumes that $27 went to the motel and another $2 went to the bellboy - not true. Now, my dad went to his grave refusing to accept my answer. He was sure there was no answer because he heard this story over 25 years before telling me and nobody he knew had ever come up with the "missing" $1. The fact is that there is no "missing" $1. The question makes a erroneous assumption/conclusion before asking the question and therefore the conclusion of a "missing" $1 is in error. As computer people say "garbage in - garbage out". This is a great and classic lesson in reading and understanding a problem before reaching a conclusion. Toolman's law #3: First impulses are often wrong. PS: Jackaroo - I know the chicken answer also.
Chicken:Fox:Sack of Grain from Jackaroo: Yes. and as a matter of fact was able to use the same principle once with three valuable and extremely heavy pieces of baggage and only my two arms, crossing caty-corner across the street from Grand Central Station to the Airport Shuttle stop.
