The missing £1

[caretech]

Three couples book into a hotel. Thats £30 total says the receptionist. The couples hand over their £10 each and go to their rooms. The manager arrives and tells the receptionist that there is a special where 3 rooms are £25 so gave him £5 to take back. He was not sure how to divide the £5 between the 3 couples so decided to keep £2 for himself and handed each couple £1.

So that means each couple paid £9

3 x £9 = £27 plus the £2 that the receptionist kept is £29

Where has the missing £1 gone

 

[oompah]

Down the back of the settee.

 

[Whitespirit66]

How cares about the lousy quid. Were they swingers, and at which hotel do they meet?

 

[caretech]

Down the back of the settee

Never thought of that

 

[Blasphemous]

This IS a joke right?

 

[plugwash]

3 x £9 = £27 plus the £2 that the receptionist kept is £29

This Sum is where things go wrong

3x£9 = £27 MINUS the £2 the receptionist kept PLUS the £5 the hotel gave back as a special brings us back to the original £30

 

[Deluks]

My driving instructor told me this story many moons ago. I don't think I took anything in during that particular lesson, I was trying to work it out for ages. (don't bother, you can't)

 

[Deluks]

3 x £9 = £27 plus the £2 that the receptionist kept is £29

This Sum is where things go wrong

3x£9 = £27 MINUS the £2 the receptionist kept PLUS the £5 the hotel gave back as a special brings us back to the original £30

But who got the extra quid?

 

[caretech]

yeh but no but yeh

If they got £1 each back then they only paid £9 each so how can simple maths go wrong

 

[Blasphemous]

They pay £30 total.

£5 is taken from the £30 leaving £25 in the till.

£3 is given back and the receptionist keeps £2.

£25 + £3 + £2 = £30. Simple surely.

 

[imamartian]

They pay £30 total.

£5 is taken from the £30 leaving £25 in the till.

£3 is given back and the receptionist keeps £2.

£25 + £3 + £2 = £30. Simple surely.

the problem is introduced by bringing in the '£27' as a cost of the rooms... however, it's actually -£27... so you add £2 to that you get -£25 which equates to the +£25 that the hotel now has.

It's a clever mix up of a simultaneous equation, where the 27 is crucial... -27 + 2 = -25 but 27+ 2 = 29 (hence the missing £1)

 

[caretech]

yes £25 is in the till but they have paid £27 so did the receptionist keep £3

 

[caretech]

So next time I go to the hotel I should pay -£27 that means they will have to pay me

 

[Deluks]

They pay £30 total.

£5 is taken from the £30 leaving £25 in the till.

£3 is given back and the receptionist keeps £2.

£25 + £3 + £2 = £30. Simple surely.

By your reckoning the three couples have paid £28 between them, but after the refund they are out of pocket by exactly £9 each (=£27)

So is the missing £1 in the till?

 

[imamartian]

look at it as the guest on one side, and the hotel on the other....

hotel = +30................../..........................guest = -30

-5

hotel = +25

reception take 5 to guest --------->

hotel = +25......................./.................guest = -27

and reception has +2

if reception 2 goes to hotel, hotel = 27, or to guests, they = -25
so equation works either way