Where Did the Dollar Go?

"Have you ever heard about the three men that were out on the town? After having consumed more drink than they should, they decided to wear it off by staying overnight in a hotel. The desk clerk charged them $30.00 for the room. Shortly afterwards the desk clerk realized that he had overcharged the three men by $5.00. He calls the Bell Boy over, gives him the $5.00 and explains to him that he had overcharged the three men and asked him to go up and give them the $5.00. On his way up, the Bell Boy thinks they will be happy to get a refund so why don't I give them each $1.00. They will be happy and I will have picked up $2.00. But when he does that and gives each man $1.00, that means they only paid $9.00 each for the room, which is a total of $27.00; plus the $2.00 the Bell Boy pocketed is a total of $29.00. But they gave the desk clerk $30.00! Where did the extra $1.00 go??"

Answer:


This is sort of a trick question, but it usually takes people a surprisingly long time to get it. The trick is the word "plus". In reality, the $2 should be subtracted from (not added to) the $27 to get $25 paid for the room. There is no missing dollar.