# Answer this quickly (and hopefully correctly) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040 "2012-06-13T18:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/1 "2012-06-13T18:21:18Z")
A hot dog and a soda cost $1.10. The hot dog is a dollar more than the soda, how much is the soda? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/2 "2012-06-13T18:23:32Z")
A nickel. Wait…what are the taxes? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/3 "2012-06-13T18:27:46Z")
.5 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/4 "2012-06-13T18:32:01Z")
Ten cents. ETA: Math fail. I was never good at this stuff. 5 cents? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/5 "2012-06-13T18:33:33Z")
This must have been in the old days where a soda cost a nickel. But then the hot dog would only cost a nickel then too. Everything cost a nickel in the old days, it was the only unit of currency. So the question has no reality based answer, just a theoretical one. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/6 "2012-06-13T18:34:04Z")
2 dollars. There’s no way a nickel’s worth of soda will be enough. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/7 "2012-06-13T18:36:15Z")
Wait…is this in New York and the soda is over 16 oz? 'cause that’s illegal territory, bud! ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/8 "2012-06-13T18:38:38Z")
All right, help me out here… how does 1.10 - 1.00 = .05? Is there some new rule of basic arithmetic that’s been discovered since I was in gradeschool? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/9 "2012-06-13T18:40:24Z")
The soda is five cents, the hot dog is 1.05 dollars - therefore, the hot dog is one dollar more than the soda if the soda is five cents. Caveat: I"m no math genius. If I’m wrong, well, it won’t be the first time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/10 "2012-06-13T18:41:05Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > All right, help me out here… how does 1.10 - 1.00 = .05? Is there some new rule of basic arithmetic that’s been discovered since I was in gradeschool? I must be dumb too, because I instantly said “ten cents.” ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/11 "2012-06-13T18:41:43Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > .5 As in, 50 cents?? Man, you guys got me totally confused. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/12 "2012-06-13T18:42:29Z")
5 copper disks. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/13 "2012-06-13T18:44:02Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > As in, 50 cents?? > > Man, you guys got me totally confused. Uh…yeah typo, I was going for .05 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/14 "2012-06-13T18:44:30Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/15 "2012-06-13T18:44:32Z")
.5 cents. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/16 "2012-06-13T18:45:17Z")
If it makes folks feel any better, half of students at Harvard, Princeton and MIT got this question wrong when asked. Whether you get it right or not is not really correlated with your intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/17 "2012-06-13T18:45:59Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > All right, help me out here… how does 1.10 - 1.00 = .05? Is there some new rule of basic arithmetic that’s been discovered since I was in gradeschool? If the hot dog costs a dollar more than the soda, and if the soda is 5 cents, then .05 + 1.00 = 1.05. The cost of the soda and hot dog together: .05 + 1.05 = 1.10. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/18 "2012-06-13T18:46:23Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > If it makes folks feel any better, half of students at Harvard, Princeton and MIT got this question wrong when asked. Whether you get it right or not is not really correlated with your intelligence. I knew MIT wasn’t worth my time. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/19 "2012-06-13T18:47:06Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > .5 cents. A hapenny? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/20 "2012-06-13T18:47:57Z")
It is all in the wording. Obviously if you choose $1.00 for the hot dog and $0.10 for the drink, the difference is $0.90. So, to fulfill the requirements of this little gem, you have to say $1.05 for the hot dog and $0.05 for the drink. That makes the difference equal to $1.00. Shall I draw a diagram? 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040.md?page=2)