Bell Boy Problem
Apr. 6th, 2018 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackThree men go to stay in a motel in a single room (their personal relationship is irrelevant to the problem). They are charged £300 and split it £100 each. Then the manager realises that they were massively overcharged, and the actual cost should only have been £25 total. The manager gives £275 to bellboy (so, not as much of a dive as I was imagining?).
But the bellboy, noticing 275 doesn't divide evenly into three, pockets £272, returning £1 to each of the men.
Now each man has paid £99 to stay in the room and 3 x £99 = £297. The bellboy has pocketed £272. £297 + £272 = £569 - so where is the missing £269?
When you put it like that, the maths is clearly screwed up. But when the original cost is £30, apparently it's easy to add the stolen money again instead of subtracting it.
But the bellboy, noticing 275 doesn't divide evenly into three, pockets £272, returning £1 to each of the men.
Now each man has paid £99 to stay in the room and 3 x £99 = £297. The bellboy has pocketed £272. £297 + £272 = £569 - so where is the missing £269?
When you put it like that, the maths is clearly screwed up. But when the original cost is £30, apparently it's easy to add the stolen money again instead of subtracting it.