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

There was once a college that offered a class on probability applied to the real world. The class was relatively easy, but there was a catch. There were no homework assignments or tests, but there was a final exam that would have only one question on it. When everyone received the test paper it was a blank sheet of paper with a solitary question on it: 'What is the risk?'.Most students were able to pass, but only one student received 100% for the class! Even stranger was that he only wrote down one word!
What did he write?

Asked by Neha on 03 Sep 2023


Can you solve this tricky maths equation problem by replacing it? mark with the correct symbol?

19834 -----: 187
15921 -----: 153
17561 -----: 139
13734 -----: ???

Asked by Neha on 28 May 2023

Krish is 45 years old and his mother Crishtina is 73 years old.

Can you find out how many years ago, his mother was three times his age?

Asked by Neha on 18 Mar 2024


What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney up?

Asked by Neha on 12 Jul 2025

Can you identify if it's a murder or a suicide ?


Murder or Suicide?

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021

What is a word made up of 4 letters, yet is also made up of 3. Sometimes is written with 9 letters, and then with 4. Rarely consists of 6, and never is written with 5.

What has 4 Letters

Asked by Neha on 15 Mar 2024


If 21x = 79x, what is the value of x?

Asked by Neha on 19 Oct 2023

What are the 50th, 63rd and 100th numbers in the sequence below?
4, 5, 8, 8, 9, 9, 12, 13, 13, 13, 17, 18, ...

Asked by Neha on 08 Feb 2024

I have eight fingers and two thumbs but I do not live. What Am I?

Asked by Neha on 21 Mar 2024


Spot 5 differences in two Christmas tree below:

Christmas Tree

Asked by Neha on 06 Jul 2021

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Rubik’s Cube

The inventor of the Rubik’s Cube didn’t realize he’d built a puzzle until he scrambled it the first time and tried to restore it.