re: Three Traveling Salesmen at a Hotel (No homo)

its math month on OT

Think of it as each man walking in with 10 one dollar bills, and there is no other money on premises. At the end, there is $25 in the register, $3 with the men, and $2 with the clerk. Total is $30.

The trick is in the "each paid $9" phrasing. They did, so $27 went in the till, and the clerk stole $2 of that. Again, it's the clerk's $2 plus $25 in the till and $3 with the men equals $30.

That's not how the riddle goes...

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The trick is in the "each paid $9" phrasing. They did, so $27 went in the till, and the clerk stole $2 of that.

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That's what I'm talking about!

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Again, it's the clerk's $2 plus $25 in the till and $3 with the men equals $30.

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Obviously. Once the men are paid back the $3, why are you even still talking about them having paid $30? They paid $27, and that's the number that matters. The $2 the bellboy kept came out of that $27, and that's why it's invalid to think of it as 3*9+2 = 30. You should be thinking of it as 3*9-2 = 25. Keep track of the cash flows, and don't incorrectly mingle them between different entities.

Wait... is this a math or logic problem or is it what hotel operators in New Orleans have to do when there are 15 people per room at Essence Fest??