Category: E05: Missing Dollar

In this paradox no contradiction is actually taking place. There is no missing dollar. Adding $27 and $2 (to get $29) in the end is not required at all. The ladies paid $27 out of which $25 went to the restaurant and $2 went to the waiter. Actually we are supposed to subtract $2 from $27 and not add it to $27 . Adding $27 and $2 to get a $29 is just an additional calculation to confuse everyone.

There is no missing dollar in this equation. The ladies had already paid the bill of 30$ so they were -30$. The cashier then received the money which gave him +30$, which he then gave 5$ away so that left him +25$. The waiter was then +5$ and he gave the ladies all one dollar each which made them -27$. The waiter kept 2$ leaving him with a balance of +2$. If he would have returned the money the ladies would then have a balance of -25$. Therefore the cashier had his +25$ and the ladies were -25$, so there is no missing dollar.

There is no missing dollar. The author informs the reader that the $30 bill was paid. The waiter pockets $2 and then he returns $3 remaining from the $5 that he owed back to the ladies. The bill was never actually split three ways because it was already paid.

There is no missing dollar at all in this situation because the writer tells the audience they paid $30, although the meal was only $25.00. Ergo, the $5.00 that the cashier returns to the waiter is split between the waiter and the three ladies. The waiter returns a $1.00 to each lady and stole $2.00 for himself. The three ladies didn’t put $9.00 each on the table because it’s impossible to pay  a $25.00 bill evenly among each other.

There is no missing dollar within the paradox. This is proven because the author informs the audience they paid $30.00, however the meal was only $25.00. Therefore the $5.00 that the cashier returns to the waiter is split between the waiter and the three ladies. The waiter returns a $1.00 to each lady and stole $2.00 for himself. The three ladies didn’t pay $9.00 each because it’s impossible to evenly pay a $25.00 bill with the ladies paying $9.00 each.

There is no missing dollar. The easiest way to see that there is, in fact, no missing dollar is to track the money as it is given. After getting a $30 bill, each person (P1, P2, and P3) gives $10 to the waiter. Now the waiter has $30. The waiter then gives $25 to the cashier (C) and still has $5 (25+5=30). The waiter (W)decides to keep $2 dollars and give P1,P2, and P3 each a dollar. So (C + W+ P1 +P2+P3) = ($25 + $2+ $1 +$1 +$1) = $30.

The issue is that the next paragraph insists that each woman paid $9 each but that isn’t true. Since the bill is $25 and P1,P2, and P3 paid together, they all actually paid for the $25 bill with $5 extra. There is no way for 3 people to split $25 dollars evenly, as if they all pay $8 each it would total $24, so one person essentially paid a dollar extra. If P1 paid the dollar extra, then P1 + P2 + P3 + Extra = $9 + $8 + $8 + $5 = $30. So all of the money is accounted for.

This paradox seems complicated, but certain numbers were thrown into this riddle to confuse the reader. There is actually no missing dollar. Multiplying the three girls by the nine dollars that they each payed is what created confusion. Quite simply broken down, the bill was $25, the waiter gave $3 back to the table, and the waiter also kept $2 for himself. Therefore, 25+3+2=30, not 29.

There is no missing dollar, but there is a problem with the question. The question asks that if they have now only paid nine dollars each, and the waiter has two; where is the missing dollar? The problem is how it is all presented. The sum of the three women’s payment is 27 dollars, and this is perfectly accounted for. The cashier has 25 dollars, and the waiter has the other two. The three dollars from the original 30 are split among the three women. Seeing it from this perspective, it is easy to see there was no missing dollar at all. The question incorrectly suggested that the two dollars the waiter had were separate from the 27 dollar payment.

The paradox looks simple but how it was worded it looked tricky. The missing dollar was not missing after all because each lady paid $9 which will bring the total to $27 instead of $10 . The bill was $25 dollars however the waiter kept the 2 dollars as a tip, . And he gave back the three $1 bills to the three ladies. 25+2+3= $30.