Explanation of the Riddle
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The Riddle (and Link to the Riddle Page):
Three men went to a hotel to share a room for the night, and the clerk stated it was $30. Each handed him $10 and went to their room. Then the clerk realized it was only a $25 room. He had overcharged. He gave the bellboy a $5 bill to return to the men.
On the way up the elevator, the bellboy said, how can I divide this $5 bill among the three men? So he decided to make it simple, keeping a $2 tip, telling them there was an overcharge, and handing each of the three men a $1 refund.
Each man provided $10 of the initial $30 room cost, less $1 each received as a refund, paying $9. $9 times 3 equals $27, plus $2 the bellboy kept equals $29. What happened to the other dollar (of the $30)?
[Food for Thought:
Do you believe mathematics is always an exact science, and nine times three is always 27?]
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As explained fully within the section below this section, the last paragraph of the riddle can instead read as follows:
Each man provided $10 of the initial $30 room cost, less $1 each received as a refund, paying $9. $9 times 3 equals $27, less $2 the bellboy kept equals $25.
>>>
There was a focus adjustment in the story to $25, not $30.
You should forget the unrevised story history of $30. $25 is the net cost of the three men for the room (and the net amount the hotel received), and $2 is the tip the bellboy kept = $27.
>>>
[If, for some reason, you want to account for everything, including $30, the $25 + $2 immediately above + the $3 total amount the bellboy returned to the men = $30.]
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One key to the riddle is that there is no basis to state “plus $2 the bellboy kept” (basically speaking, its only use is in restoring history). There was a focus adjustment in the story to $25, not $30. It is misleadingly including the $2 tip in their net cost of $9 times 3 equals $27. Therefore, the answer is “less $2 the bellboy kept equals $25.” Quite notably, as seen in the last section, it also contains a string of diversions, all working together in the same direction away from the correct answer and, all combined, is mind-blowing.
Please, forget “plus $2 the bellboy kept” (and the “Food for Thought,” ridiculous!).
$27 is the total net cost of the three men, no more or less. $25 is the total net amount received by the hotel, and $2 is the total net amount received by the bellboy.
Again, $27 is the total net cost of the three men, no more or less, not a penny more or less. However, as discussed, it includes the $2 the bellboy took. Notably, $9 times 3 equals $27, not $25.
$25 is the total net amount received by the hotel after subtracting the full $5 refund the bellboy was supposed to deliver from the initial $30 room cost.
$25 is also the total net cost of the three men for the room, not $27 (which includes the $2 tip). Hopefully, everyone will realize this.
$2 is the total amount received by the bellboy after subtracting $3 (the $1 each man received as a refund) from the full $5 refund he was supposed to deliver. The $2 tip the bellboy took was a cost to the men. It reduced the full $5 refund they were supposed to receive by $2. That is why $9 ᶠⁿ¹ times 3 equals $27, not $25. They were supposed to and did pay only $25 “for the room,” not $27 (which included the $2 tip). You can see it clearly in $27, not $25.
ᶠⁿ¹ The total net cost of each man “for the room” (that excludes the tip) is $8.33 rather than $9.
Therefore, when the riddle states, “$9 times 3 equals $27, plus $2 the bellboy kept,” why would you cooperate and add $2 to the $27? The $2 tip is already in it. “Confess,” so to speak, admitting “cooperation” at least a bit with the nonsense in the past, now being kind and fair (promptly) to those struggling with it.
Note that some people will strain with the riddle. Help them all you want. However, you decide if it is appropriate to inform them there will be no answer until they are at least on the correct path, listening carefully, especially for $25 or “less $2 the bellboy kept,” promptly stopping them politely while on that line of thought, asking them to explain more. Hopefully, everyone perceives a proper limit, trying not to toy with a mind contrary to God and morality. Please safely err on the side of prompt disclosure.
Although alternative math can apply, this explanation is correct. There has not been comprehensive research on the riddle’s author and whether it may be copyright material or otherwise legally protected.
Incidentally, not to add insult to injury, but $27 plus the $3 refund equals $30.
I am still Mad! That bellboy mucked this up And Is A Thief! They want their money back!
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Once I began writing this article, I learned more, becoming humbled seeing all the misleading diversions. I did not have enough of a firm handle to write about it for others. Although on the right path for decades, I now realize there is far more to it than a mere focus adjustment from $30 to $25, requiring explanation. There is a full explanation in the last section of the string of diversions, and I mean a long string of diversions, all working together in the same direction away from the correct answer. I seriously believe this “Thing” of a strange riddle occurred by fate because it is far too complex in deception for any mind to plan. Deception of this magnitude must become a matter of public record, Hauling That Bellboy Into Court With It!
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An Award:
If you are fortunate enough to hear someone promptly state, “Less $2 the bellboy kept,” please let me know. Before the prize award, expect a comprehensive investigation and a polygraph examination of all involved.
Captured In a Nutshell:
Please, end my anguish And Beware. If someone promptly knows the whole story, e.g., “less $2 the bellboy kept to $25, $30, what for, silly history, 27 plus 3,” they are an insider knowing where that bellboy is, And Call The Police!
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Perhaps For Reasons Still Unknown, This “Thing” Is Mysteriously Difficult!
There is nothing but a diversion away from the only things that can start making sense, “less $2 the bellboy kept” or $25:
The most significant deception is that the multiplication of “$9 times 3 equals $27” alone hides the reality of the $2 tip. Quite conveniently, it joins with all of the diversion deceptions that follow.
Whether $27 itself is considered an upward diversion, it joins with the other upward diversion in the wrong direction that follows.
With the $2 tip substantially hidden, the riddle’s assertion, “plus $2 the bellboy kept,” is an upward diversion that joins with more in the wrong direction that follows. It casts many into “Never-Land,” away from $25, with “plus,” not “less.” It is bizarre. How many people see the $2 tip already in $27? It is a very cunning diversion, especially because “less” would bring you down to $25, a key figure that can start making sense of everything.
In addition to $29 hiding $25, a key figure that can begin making sense, $29 by itself, is an upward diversion in the wrong direction that joins with more in the wrong direction that follows.
The riddle’s question, “What happened to the other dollar (of the $30)?” is an upward diversion that joins all the other deception and diversion.
$29 joins the notable upward external diversion, $30, A Genuine Insult To Injury, A Meaningless Figure, i.e., Falling For By Considering The $30. The confusion created becomes solid, compounded, and dead-set to fix Everyone in “Never-Land.” Yes, it is for life or, you bet, all must “Confess” that they fell for it, just as they cooperated in wasting at least some time adding $2 to the $27. I know there has already been a confession. Listen, You Burn For Life Or, I Mean Now, “Confess” Twice With The Stinking Riddle!
$30 by itself is a diversion from $25 and “less” $2 the bellboy kept and influences Everyone in the same direction (Away from $25 and “less” $2 the bellboy kept), but worse, as noted above, it is an insulting meaningless figure. It is a cunning Additional Compounding of the diversion and wrong direction.
It seems that some people may have to resort to help from someone if their life depended on obtaining the answer! It is evidence of our weakness of being misled, but in the wrong direction, not merely off track. Whoever developed it may seem the master of disguise, but it probably occurred by chance.
Even knowing there is no lost dollar to find, not knowing that the $30 means nothing, except when restoring history, most will remember it. Perhaps A Few People Will Remember And Remain Hung Up On The Riddle For Life. If you can identify them, get a laugh with some people, no joke, concluding, “Only a dollar lost!” Do not give up and forget this group. Help them out, so to speak, and work on them. To maintain their interest, you may have to Remind Them that dollars multiply. “Listen, We Are Talking Big Money Wall Street Scheme Here!” Oh, Yes, I Already Know That You Are Going To Tell Everyone That! If criticized about the cheap hotels you must go to, ask them if showing proper respect for the riddle and those still struggling with it for over a half-century, would you touch it?
Many people quickly forget the riddle because of the cold behavior life offers. They probably think low of their intelligence by all the degrading of others. It is especially wrongful when done by a sibling, even more so by a parent. ᶠⁿ²
ᶠⁿ² It is troubling to realize the number of people not feeling obligated to determine the answer because of the cold behavior life offers. It Is Degrading by friends and siblings, or a teacher’s perceived obligation, but worse, by a parent. Parents should be cautious, not as seen below. Even demeanor should be reserved when in disagreement over what a child wants to become, only silently within, including discussions of their intellect, assuming it is not immoral. It is time for a parent to question their limits and accept that human potential and its possibilities are beyond human perception. I sure am saying that only God knows! Their school grades, tests, and whatever should be set aside In The Interest Of Their Expressed Will (forget a Ph.D. report also). There are precautions to the upside. As an adult, a child believing they are a genius may tend to lack a good heart or humility, be blind to their pretentious nature, or not be up-front in stating “I do not know.” It reminds me of a law professor with a photographic memory proving it to large crowds.
I seemed to be partially illiterate before starting community college. I had a hard time reading, but I never took a piece of homework home (in my life), never read much more than a paragraph of any book (forget a chapter), and would not even read the I.Q. test. So, a troubled, strong-minded kid, for nearly the first time in my life, I was now trying to do what was right (going to college), but my father and big brother had the nerve to tell me I was wasting my time (the riddle article discusses my “big brother,” who first told me the riddle)! I would jokingly describe it “as if a holy war broke out.” Little did I know, basically speaking, it was true. I believe what follows could not have occurred had God not intervened (in ways known only to Him). Also, see my related article, The Lord Jesus Constantly Shares An Emotion With the Brokenhearted, Looking Down From a Distance at Loved Ones Not Loving Him (God helps the “brokenhearted”). I later practiced as an enrolled agent (a federally licensed tax accountant), a CPA, and an attorney, passing exams for all three on the first sitting. I also earned an LL.M. advanced law degree. However, the point is that I was informed to forget it.
Sincerely, /L.S., Frank Lawrence, Sr./
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