In the riddle it is worded to make us think the math is off. If we really think about it the math is clear. When the waiter got the 5 from the cashier he put 2 in his pocket. The bill would go up to 27 dollars. That leaves 3 dollars for the customers. Any other math after this point is irrelevant because the dollar total is 30.
There was never a missing dollar. The meal cost $25, and the women all paid an equal share of the meal so the waiter gave the women back three dollars each while keeping two in his pocket . 25+3+2=30
Concerning the missing dollar, it is to get distracted on the last three lines of the post “Now, each of the ladies paid $9. Three times 9 is $27. The waiter has $2 in his pocket. Two plus 27 is $29. The ladies originally handed over $30.”. However, where attention needs to be paid is on the original cost of the meal, $25. The women paid $9 each, when in fact, 25 (the total cost) divided by three is $8.33. When the waiter gives back a dollar, the total paid by each woman is now $9.33, which multiplied by 3 is equal to roughly $28. When the waiter keeps his $2, it does in fact add up to $30. The estimated 33 cents per lady was lost not accounted for because no small change was used. That being said, the restaurant got its $25 it was owed, the women were given back $1 each ($3) and the waiter kept his $2, the $30 is all intact. This puzzle is an example of getting stuck on certain details that can detract from the actual story, and cause confusion.
Concerning the missing dollar, it is to get distracted on the last three lines of the post “Now, each of the ladies paid $9. Three times 9 is $27. The waiter has $2 in his pocket. Two plus 27 is $29. The ladies originally handed over $30.”. However, where attention needs to be paid is on the original cost of the meal, $25. The women paid $9 each, when in fact, 25 (the total cost) divided by three is $8.33. When the waiter gives back a dollar, the total paid by each woman is now $9.33, which multiplied by 3 is equal to roughly $28. When the waiter keeps his $2, it does in fact add up to $30. The estimated 33 cents per lady was lost not accounted for because no small change was used. That being said, the restaurant got its $25 it was owed, the women were given back $1 each ($3) and the waiter kept his $2, the $30 is all intact. This puzzle is an example of getting stuck on certain details that can detract from the actual story, and cause confusion.
Three ladies go to a restaurant for a meal .They received a bill for $30. Each paid $10 for food . waiter collects the money and takes to The cashier. The bill was $25 so the cashier returned $5 back in singles to the waiter. The waiter kept $2 from the $5 and gave back a $1 to each lady. So originally they each gave $9 and after getting a dollar back, that makes it $10. The $2 need to be subtracted from the $25 not added. Where is the missing dollar go ? Their is no missing dollar its missing statement.
There is no missing dollar. The ladies lunch costs 25 dollars and the waiter pocketed 2 which equals 27, the same as if each ladies gave 9 instead of 10. He then gives each ladies back a dollars each, coming to the total amount of 30.
There is no dollar missing in this situation. The meals cost 25 dollars in total. The waiter gave back 3 dollars to the women and kept 2 dollars in his pocket. The equation 9 x 3=27 is absolutely true; however, this equation is not relevant to the situation at hand. 25+2+3=30
In the missing dollar paradox, the three ladies actually only paid $25. From the number $25 which is the new bill, you add the two that the waiter took and then also add the three dollars that were given back. By doing this, you get 30 all together which was originally put out. This is meant to mess with your head in a way that it shouldn’t. Since the the new bill is $25, its almost like having a new problem and you can not think about the money the ladies gave out first.
The ending of the riddle is misleading. While the riddle is trying to make you multiply 9 by 3 and then add the two dollars in the waiters pocket which would only add up to 29 the real answer is that all the money is all there. There is $25 in the register from the corrected bill, there is $2 in the waiters pocket, and each of the three ladies is given a dollar each which adds up to $30 in total. 25+2+1+1+1=30
To put it simply, the answer to The Missing Dollar Paradox is that there actually isn’t a missing dollar in this scenario. The waiter took the $30 that was put down on the table to pay and was given $5 back by the cashier because there was a mistake and the bill was really supposed to be $25, so to solve the issue of giving the money owed to these three women back evenly he pocketed $2 and gave them $3 back in total so they would receive $1 a piece. The root of the confusion in this paradox lies in the misleading wording of the following sentence: “Now, each of the ladies paid $9. Three times 9 is $27. The waiter has $2 in his pocket. Two plus 27 is $29. The ladies originally handed over $30.” It is absolutely true that $9 multiplied by 3 is $27 like the sentence suggests, however that is not relevant to the problem in any way whatsoever. The restaurant’s cashier kept $25 for the bill, the waiter kept $2, and each of the three women got $1 back which adds up to $3 total. $25 + $3 + $2 = $30 which is the original total put down on the table to pay the bill, so in reality a dollar never really disappeared.
Rowan Counterintuitive 