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?




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Suppose that you are trapped on the surface of a frozen lake. The surface is so smooth and ideal that there is no friction at all. You cant make any grip on the ice and no wind is blowing to help you out. You have just a mobile phone with you which has got no reception disabling you to call for help.

How will you plan your escape before you freeze to death on the frozen lake?

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Two fathers and two sons decided to go to a shop and buy some sweets upon reaching. Each of them bought 1 kg of sweet. All of them returned home after some time and found out that they had 3kg of sweets with them.

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There is a basket full of hats. Three are white and two are black. Three men, Tom, Tim, and Jim, each take a hat out of the basket and put it on their heads without seeing the hat they selected or the hats the other men selected. The men arrange themselves so Tom can see Tim and Jim’s hats, Tim can see Jim’s hat, and Jim can’t see anyone’s hat. Tom is asked what color his hat is and he says he doesn’t know. Tim is asked the same question, and he also doesn’t know. Finally, Jim is asked the question, and he does know. What colour is his hat?

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A high school has a strange principal. On the first day, he has his students perform an odd opening day ceremony:

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Principal in the School

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