🚀 go-pugleaf

In a previous article, haddadi@sipi.usc.edu (Navid Haddadi) says:

>Here is a very old puzzle:

Agreed.

>Three men rent a room for $30. The inn keeper decides that he has
>over charged them and gives the bellboy $5 to give back to the men.
>The bellboy decides to keep $2 and give each man $1. 
>So, each man has paid $9 (3x9=27) plus the $2 that the boy kept.
>Hence, 27+2=30.
>
>It is actually more funny than silly!

Further, it's more flawed than funny.

You're treating the $2 as if it magically appeared in the bellhop's
grimy little hand. Recall that she got the money from the innkeeper,
who got the money from the guests.

Thus each guest contributed $9, including one third of the $25 that the
innkeeper kept ($8 1/3 each) and one third of the $2 that the short-timer
bellhop kept ($0 2/3 each). No biggie.


-- 
Marc Sira                    |
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