Brain Teaser 11 Answer


Answer:

I remember hearing this riddle some time ago but at the time I didn't put any effort into solving it.  I'm glad I rediscovered it as it has been a lot of fun solving.  

I believe what makes this tricky is the way it is framed.  By starting at $27 then adding the $2 taken by the server we are then asked what happened to the other $1 which makes up the original $30 paid.  This causes most to do something like this: 
$9 x 3 = $27.  $27 + $2 = $29.  ?  $1.

But we shouldn't be adding $2 to $27, we should actually be subtracting it.  Here is what really happened:

$30 - $3 (returned to customers) = $27 (actually paid).  $27 - $2 (kept by server) = $25 (actual bill).  

There you have it.  Just look at what actually happened instead of the misdirection the riddle wants us to look at.  

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