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

Get total of 120 by using five zeros 0,0,0,0,0 and any one mathematical operator.
Do you ?

Asked by Neha on 09 Jul 2021


Can you spot what's wrong with the following sentence?

PETER WAS ANGRY AT
HIMSELF BECAUSE HE
ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THE
THE KEYS TO HIS CAR
AT HIS FRIEND'S HOUSE.

Asked by Neha on 03 May 2022

If an electric train is travelling south, then which way is the smoke going?

Asked by Neha on 27 Aug 2025


If you were to put a coin into an empty bottle and then insert a cork into the neck, how could you remove the coin without taking out the cork or breaking the bottle?

Asked by Neha on 08 Oct 2025

A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son.

Who am I?

Asked by Neha on 21 Mar 2022

A network of 20 x 10 squares is given to you.

Can you calculate how many unique squares and rectangles can be formed combining two or more individual squares ?

Asked by Neha on 24 Jan 2021


Client Dempsey living in one of the East Coast states of the U.S. was talking to Landon Donovan, who was living in the West Coast state of the U.S.

Dempsey: What time is it?
Donovan: Wow, It is the same time here.

How is this possible?

Asked by Neha on 30 Apr 2025

Can you make a fire with just a single stick?

Asked by Neha on 22 Apr 2026

People are waiting in line to board a 100-seat aeroplane. Steve is the first person in the line. He gets on the plane but suddenly can't remember what his seat number is, so he picks a seat at random. After that, each person who gets on the plane sits in their assigned seat if it's available, otherwise, they will choose an open seat at random to sit in. The flight is full and you are last in line. What is the probability that you get to sit in your assigned seat?

Asked by Neha on 13 Mar 2024


John was gifted a new Hayabusa. He drove x miles at 55mph. Then he drove x+20 miles at 40mps. He drove his bike for 100 minutes. How much distance did he travel?

Asked by Neha on 31 Mar 2026

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has crushed all human records in the puzzle game “2048,” achieving a high score of 839,732 and beating the game in only 973 moves without using any undo.