Yet another math brain teaser is confusing the Internet, so can you solve this tricky puzzle?
The story goes like this: Three friends decide to split the bill after a meal at a restaurant. The bill is $30, so each person pays $10.
Later, the waiter realises the bill should only be $25. To fix this, he takes $5 from the total and returns to the group of friends.
But the waiter realizes he can’t divide $5 equally between three, so, seeing as the customers don’t know the revised bill, he keeps $2 for himself and gives each of the three friends $1 back.
Each guest got $1 change from the bill. Now each guest has only paid $9 for the meal, bringing the total paid to $27. The waiter has $2.
$27 + $2 = $29, so where did the remaining $1 go?
Makes no sense, right? Wrong.
Really, there IS no missing $1. The puzzle misleads you as the waiter keeps $2, which wouldn’t be included in the total bill as it was stolen.
If the puzzle was phrased differently or in a different order, it’s clear the guests paid $27 for their meal. The $2 stolen by the waiter is already included in that $27, leaving $1 change for each guest and adding up to a nice round $30.
How did you get on?
