The case of the missing dollar

[mikeycorn]

Three guys are checking into a hotel in Vegas. The sign says $30, so they each dig a $10 out of their pockets and hand it to the hotel receptionist, who tells them that actually, today the room is on special for $25. He gives the guys five single dollar bills and the bell boy grabs their bags and shows them to the room. They figure with a $25 dollar room, they can get away with a two dollar tip, and so they hand the bell boy $2, they split the remaining three dollars and settle into their room.

Originally, they each spent $10.

They each got $1 back, so the three of them ended up spending $9 each while the bell boy walked away with $2.

But wait a minute, $9 times 3 is $27, and the bell boy got $2 . . .

What happened to the missing dollar???

[beachbum]

Mikey that one is so old that I may need to dig up my great grandfather to see if he can be bothered answering It's easy.. the dollar was an Australian dollar and so worthlessly vanished into thin air.

[Judd]

There isn't a missing dollar. No money is removed from the system. Just look at the state diagram.

                  Men    Hotel    Bell Boy    Total
                  ---------------------------------
            Start +30    0        0           30
                  0     +30       0           30
                  +5    +25       0           30
                  +3    +25       +2          30
                  ---------------------------------
Change from start -27   +25       +2          0

[mikeycorn]

Damn, I was hoping we'd have to dig up Beachbum's great grandfather to get a response.

[mikeycorn]

That state diagram can't lie . . . The way I visualized it was that they each got $1.66 back and they each gave a 66 cent tip.

Okay, so I guess that was a moldy oldy. You guys have any good math teasers? (No trains, please.)

[Alphanos]

A train leaves Washington heading east at 90 km/h. 20 minutes later, a second train leaves Texas heading north at 120 km/h, while at the same time a train leaves New York heading southwest at 70 km/h. Based on their departure times and speeds, what is your name?

[thinktank2]

Unless I have the habit of changing my name everytime when it rains or when it snows or when a bug sits on my cup of coffee or when the fourth man I see after waking up has a red color shirt..........my name would remain the same.