The Missing Dollar

[Cranky Dude]

If you've seen this puzzle before, I'm not surprised. Conditions:

1. I know the answer like the back of my hand.
Great! So don't answer.

2. I've seen this puzzle before! I know the answer like th back of my
head! Err... (tries to look back)
Give it a shot... But don't look at any replies until you've given a good try.

3. What? You mean this puzzle is well known?
Yeah, sort of. Don't look at any replies to this post, and try to
figure out the answer for yourself. Reply with your answer, and then
you can look at other replies.

There are small variations on this, but the idea is the same.
==========
Three men went to a motel. The motel manager said a room cost $30, so
each man put up $10 and went to their room. A little while later the
manager realized the room was only $25, so he sent the bellhop back to
the three guys' room with $5. On the way to the room the bellhop
couldn't figure out how to split the $5 between the 3 men, so he gave
each one of them $1 and he kept the other $2.

This meant that the 3 men paid $9 each for the room for a total of
$27. Add the $2 that the bellhop kept = $29.

Where did the other dollar go?
==========

--
My problem is your problem
Cranky Dude
http://dude.cranky.googlepages.com/

[Olivia]

To the Hotel Manager.

--
http://oliviasuniverse.blogspot.com/

[Caleb Eggensperger]

I read this in the book Belle Prater's Boy. (good book btw). (I fall under condition #1)

On 6/5/06, Cranky Dude <dude....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Eric Cranston]

you subtract the two you don't add it, to get to thirty you add the 2 and the 3, the wrong question is being asked and that's why it's confusing

Basically you are being asked to explain someone's error and you trust it and don't question it.  thus you don't know it's an error

aka this is retarded

On 6/5/06, Cranky Dude <dude....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Caleb Eggensperger]

more concisely stated, who gives a fuck about the $2 the bellhop kept, add the 3 he gave

--
Caleb Eggensperger

[Cranky Dude]

On 6/6/06, Caleb Eggensperger <cale...@gmail.com> wrote:
> more concisely stated, who gives a fuck about the $2 the bellhop kept, add
> the 3 he gave

Indeed, that is correct. I think of it as they counted the $2 the
bellhop kept twice; the money they paid includes $25 for the hotel and
$2 for the bellhop, so they had already counted the bellhop's money
once. And then they add it again, and you don't notice.

What puzzled me when I first got it was simply both ends of the story
seemed to flow so well. The story was consistent, and the explanation
was also true to the story, or so it seemed. But there had to be a
mistake somewhere...