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

What does below pictogram mean?

Compile the Pictogram

Asked by Neha on 11 Aug 2021


I am five letter word that is under you.
If you remove my 1st letter, then I am over you.
If you remove my 1st and 2nd letters then I am all around you.

Who am I?

Asked by Neha on 19 Jan 2024

The owner of a popular clothing store comes up with his own method of pricing items. A vest costs $8, socks cost $10, a tie costs $6, and a blouse costs $12. Using the owner’s method, how much would a pair of underwear cost?

Asked by Neha on 21 Jun 2025


How many words can a pen with half refill write?

Asked by Neha on 03 Feb 2025

A sundial has the fewest moving parts of any timepiece. Which has the most?

Asked by Neha on 07 Jul 2025

There are five vowels (a, e, i, o, u) in the English language.
Can you tell us a word that contains all these vowels?

Asked by Neha on 20 Sep 2023


A man died, leaving $10,000,000 for his widow, 5 sons and 4 daughters. Each daughter received an equal amount, each son received twice as much as a daughter, and the widow received three times as much as a son.

How much did the widow receive?

Asked by Neha on 17 Jan 2026

John is pretty weird. He likes toffees but hates chocolates. He loves books but never reads. He likes to build his troops in an online game but does not proceed with the war. He likes to go swimming but is afraid of water.

Seeking this behaviour, can you tell whether he likes balloons and parties?

Asked by Neha on 05 May 2024

In the figure, you can see nine stars. What you have to do is connect all of them by using just four line and without lifting your hand i.e. in a continuous flow.

Connect the Stars

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021


You are playing a game with your friend Jack. There are digits from 1 to 9. You both will take turn erasing one digit and adding it to your score. The first one to score 15 points will win the game.

Would you want to play first or second?

PS: The sum should be exactly 15.

Asked by Neha on 16 Dec 2020

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Out of the Box

The phrase “thinking outside the box” was popularised from the solution to a topographical puzzle involving 9 dots in a box shape.