Fun math riddle

[Jump n Fish]

Ok, so this has probably been around forever, but I just got it in email today. So I apologize if this is the oldest riddle in the book. This little mathematical anomaly absolutely dumbfounded me for about 15 minutes of feeling pretty stupid before I figured it out. For those that have seen this already or got it figured out, please don't give it away just yet. Let a few people rack their brain for at least a little while before we give it away.


3 men check into a hotel, and the clerk charges them $30 for a room, so each man pays $10. After they go to their room, the clerk realizes he overcharged them because rooms are actually $25. He takes $5 out of the register and goes to return it to them. On the way he realizes that he can't split $5 equally between 3 people, so he gives each man $1 back meaning each man only paid $9 for the room. Now if 9 x 3 = 27 and the clerk put the remaining $2 in his pocket that only makes $29 (27 2=29), so where is the other $1 from the $30 the men originally paid?

[Flyfisher]

I think the more difficult riddle to figure out is why are three men checking into a hotel room together?

[HookUp]

The question is phrased to conceal what is really going on.

The flaw is in the phrase "the clerk put the remaining $2 in his pocket that only makes $29 (27 + 2=29),”.

The $2 has to be subtracted from the $27, not added to it.

[Jump n Fish]

Yeah, it really isn't much of a riddle, more just a bit of deception in its wording to try and get people convinced to believe in their own mistake. Well, it was enough deception to have me doubting myself for a little while. It is pretty funny though that they worded this so well that even knowing the deception, I still have to take a second look to realize it.