Three men were on a business trip and had to stay in a hotel over night. The price of the room was $30.00, so the men decided to split one room, three ways. Each one paid $10.00. Well, after they paid, the manager realized that he overcharged them on their room. The room only cost $25.00, so he gave the bellboy five one dollar bills to give to the three men. On his way up to the room the bell boy was trying to think of a way to split $5.00 three ways. After thinking about it awhile, he decided to keep $2.00 for himself and give each man $1.00 back. Now, if each man (who paid $10.00) gets $1.00 back that means they each paid $9.00 ($10.00 – $1.00 = $9 ). $9.00 multiplied by three (because there are three men) equals $27.00 plus the $2.00 the bell boy kept equals $29.00! What happened to the missing dollar?

Communicated by Bob Fischer.

The answer is not federal, state, or local taxes.