Solving the Missing Dollar Riddle in 2023
The Riddle: Three Travelers at an Inn
Most of us have heard of the classic “missing dollar riddle”. The story goes that three travelers arrive at an inn and book a room for the night. The innkeeper charges them $30 for the room. The travelers each pay $10 and go to their room.
Later that night, the innkeeper realizes he overcharged them. He decides to refund the travelers $5 each. He gives each of the travelers a $5 bill and tells them to keep the change. The travelers, each now having paid $5 instead of $10, leave the inn.
What Happened to the Missing Dollar?
The punchline of the riddle is that the three travelers only received $25 back, not the $30 they had originally paid. This means that the innkeeper is still out $5. The question is, where did the missing dollar go?
The answer to the missing dollar riddle is that the innkeeper never actually had any extra money to refund. When he gave the travelers their $5, he was simply returning their own money. This means that the travelers left the inn with the same amount of money they had when they arrived: each had $10.
Conclusion
The classic missing dollar riddle has been around for hundreds of years, and the solution hasn't changed. The innkeeper never had any extra money to refund, so he was simply returning the travelers' own money. The end result is that the travelers left the inn with the same amount of money they had when they arrived: each had $10.
The missing dollar riddle is a great way to get people thinking about basic math and logic. Even after all these years, it’s still a fun puzzle to think about and even share with your friends.