# is the missing dollar unanswerable **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2000, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347 "2000-03-01T02:21:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/41 "2002-07-19T21:48:07Z")
So, the other day, I had ten bucks in my pocket, and a friend asked to borrow a five. Well, then I had $5, and he had $5, and $5 - $5 = $0! All of my money dissappeared! Those mathematicians stole it from me! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Monalisa9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@Monalisa9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monalisa9)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/42 "2002-10-07T00:47:22Z")
The #9 is weird, because, for one thing, in any multiple of 9, the numbers in it will add up to nine or a multiple thereof: for example…in 81, 8 and 1 are 9…in 63, 6 and 3 add up to 9…in 25,191,546,381, those numbers add up to 45, a multiple of 9. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/43 "2002-10-07T01:35:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monalisa9 \* > \*\*The #9 is weird, because, for one thing, in any multiple of 9, the numbers in it will add up to nine or a multiple thereof: for example…in 81, 8 and 1 are 9…in 63, 6 and 3 add up to 9…in 25,191,546,381, those numbers add up to 45, a multiple of 9. \*\* What’s so weird about that? The same thing is true for “3.” The “9” is just a special case of the “3” rule. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/44 "2002-10-07T04:14:51Z")
Er… 3 + 0 = 3. Good so far. 6 + 0 = 6. Well, maybe its an exception. 9 + 0 = 9. Er, 2 exceptions. 1 + 2 = 3. Well, that’s a gooder. 1 + 5 = 6. _sighs_ Maybe I misunderstood you? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/45 "2002-10-07T05:08:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philster \* > Look, if a chicken and a half, rents a room and a half, for a dollar and a half, how long will it take a monkey with a wooden leg to kick all the seeds out of a dill pickle? It doesn’t matter, 'cause we’re doing a money trick. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/46 "2002-10-07T05:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Speaker for the Dead \* > \*\*Er… 3 + 0 = 3. Good so far. 6 + 0 = 6. Well, maybe its an exception. 9 + 0 = 9. Er, 2 exceptions. 1 + 2 = 3. Well, that’s a gooder. 1 + 5 = 6. _sighs_ > > Maybe I misunderstood you? \*\* Yes, you must have, if you’re talking about the post above yours. If a number’s digits are added up, and the sum is evenly divisible by 3, the number is divisble by three. The same is true for 9. 30: 3+0=3, evenly divisible by 3. 60: 6+0=6, evenly divisble by 3. You can even extend it by adding the sum’s digits. 23985940303212: 2+3+9+8+5+9+4+0+3+0+3+2+1+2=51, 5+1=6, evenly divisble by 3. The real question is why Monalisa9 reincarnated one of the most annoying types of threads on the board. Going to hunt some grys later? ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/47 "2002-10-07T05:32:12Z")
I think [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138305) more recent thread may have prompted **Monalisa9** to bump this old thread. Don’t know why the comment about the number 9 wasn’t just posted in the more recent thread, though. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/48 "2002-10-07T05:37:36Z")
Come to think of it, Monalisa9’s post about the number 9 came straight out of the left field - it seems to be completely unrelated to the thread topic. 😕 So anyway, what the heck happened to the missing dollar in the end? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/49 "2002-10-07T14:25:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > \*\*So anyway, what the heck happened to the missing dollar in the end? 🙂 \*\* Harry S. Truman got it. ---
**Author:** ![Boxcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Boxcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boxcar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/50 "2002-11-27T19:06:03Z")
Here is the correct answer You have to devide the cost of the room by 3 which gives you $8.3333333 apiece x 3 = 28 plus the 2 for the bell boy. The extra dollar went towards paying for the hotel and was devided by 3 which is 33.33333. ---
**Author:** ![yoyo3500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5daacb/32.png) [@yoyo3500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyo3500)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/51 "2002-11-27T19:36:49Z")
I wished ANYthing in NYC could cost only $10… ---
**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/52 "2002-11-27T20:27:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by siva \* > \*\*3 guys arrive in NYC–they look for the cheapest place to stay for the night. It’s $30 and they each pay $10. They get to the room, and a few minutes later there is a knock on their door. It’s the person that checked them in. He says "Sorry I forgot that on thursdays all rooms are $25 not $30. He hands 5 one dollar bills to the person that answered the door, and that person in turn tips the dude $2, and gives the other two $1 and $1 for himself. Now if each paid $10 and each got a $1 refund that equals $9 that each person paid for that 1 room. $9 times the three of them equals $27. The attendant got a two dollar tip. $27 plus $2 equals $29. What happened to the other dollar? \*\* Just in case anyone’s still wondering about this: the ‘riddle’ comes from the fact that 27+2 is a completely irrelevant figure. The cost of the room is 27-2, and the total money kicking around is 27-2+5, i.e. the cost of the room minus -5, the cost of the refund. Mind you, given the events of 9/11, I must say that every character in this riddle is a hero. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![TalkAboutIslam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4da419/32.png) [@TalkAboutIslam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TalkAboutIslam)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/53 "2002-11-28T07:26:49Z")
ooooh it was so cute… the explanation was fine too ---
**Author:** ![mikan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@mikan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/54 "2002-11-28T10:32:55Z")
Prediction: this thread will still be alive in the year 2005. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/55 "2002-11-28T20:19:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mikan \* > \*\*Prediction: this thread will still be alive in the year 2005. \*\* Yeah, even though it has been answered correctly several times and incorrectly numerous times. ---
**Author:** ![TalkAboutIslam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4da419/32.png) [@TalkAboutIslam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TalkAboutIslam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/56 "2002-11-29T02:25:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > \*\*Yeah, even though it has been answered correctly several times and incorrectly numerous times. \*\* that is how forums work… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/57 "2002-11-29T03:04:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TalkAboutIslam \* > \*\*that is how forums work… > > 😉 \*\* You mean that after a question has been correctly answered in GQ it is considered proper for people to continue answering it incorrectly? I’ll be darned. ---
**Author:** ![TalkAboutIslam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4da419/32.png) [@TalkAboutIslam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TalkAboutIslam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/58 "2002-11-29T03:37:41Z")
no barbit I meant people much too often do not read the whole thread … they just read the intro, the last few posts, and then they ask : what is all that about here ??? ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/59 "2002-11-29T03:50:32Z")
The real riddle is where does one find a hotel dude that will refund $5. ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347/60 "2002-11-29T06:17:34Z")
Bah! Off-the-cuff explainations, algabraic equations, and in-depth analysis of this problem are for those with a dreadful lack of ambition. What _I_ want to know is how I can incorporate the fundamentals of the missing dollar into my next money-making scheme. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-missing-dollar-unanswerable/8347.md?page=4)