The Waiter

Three men in a cafe order a meal the total cost of which is $15. They each contribute $5. The waiter takes the money to the chef who recognises the three as friends and asks the waiter to return $5 to the men.

The waiter is not only poor at mathematics but dishonest and instead of going to the trouble of splitting the $5 between the three he simply gives them $1 each and pockets the remaining $2 for himself.

Now, each of the men effectively paid $4, the total paid is therefore $12. Add the $2 in the waiters pocket and this comes to $14. Where has the other $1 gone from the original $15?




Similar Riddles

It belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do. What is it?

Asked by Neha on 19 Feb 2022


John was running from 40 thieves. John has got 3 gold boxes which weigh as 4kg, 2kg, and 1kg respectively. A witty man asked John to stay with him for seven days in exchange for 1kg gold per day. John needs to stay there for seven days and also do not want to give the witty man any advance. How can John pay for his seven days stay?

Asked by Neha on 14 Jul 2023

Name a key which is hardest to turn.

Asked by Neha on 28 Apr 2024


What is the difference between a jeweller and a jailer?

Asked by Neha on 11 Jul 2025

Can you find the ages of a son, father and grandfather based on the following facts?
The sum of the ages of grandfather, father and son is 140 years.
The age of the son in months is the same as the grandfather in years.
The age of the son in days is the same as the father in weeks.

Asked by Neha on 29 Jan 2024

Three doctors said that Bill was their brother. Bill says he has no brothers. How many brothers does Bill actually have?

Asked by Neha on 01 Mar 2022


I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 18 May 2022

Today is John's birthday.
A year ago, John had five candles and he lit all the candles except the one at the last.
Now he is going to light all the candles.

How old is John Today?

(He is not five today.....)

Asked by Neha on 04 Feb 2025

The average age of 10 members of a committee is the same as it was 4 years ago, because an old member has been replaced by a young member. Find how much younger is the new member ?

Asked by Neha on 19 Jul 2021


As shown in the picture below, we can see a boy hanging on the tree branch to save his life. There are various ways in which he can die like1. A snake hanging toward the right waiting to bite the boy.2. A roaring Lion near the tree.3. Two crocodiles are ready to attack if the boy reaches near water. The tree is chopped to some extent, so can fall as if he moves a lot. Can you give this boy an escape plan?

The Escape Plan

Asked by Neha on 06 Jul 2023

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Gamers

In 2011, people playing Foldit, an online puzzle game about protein folding, resolved the structure of an enzyme that causes an Aids-like disease in monkeys. Researchers had been working on the problem for 13 years. The gamers solved it in three weeks.