The Daily Motivational Show

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

Ooh, ooh, ooh...I have a question, Mr. Kottah'

Uhhhh...am I on the air???

Okay, I lost a dollah, an I can't figure out where it went.

You see, me and my two buddies chipped in together on a motel room during a long drive last night.  The night clerk told us the room was $30 dollars.  So, we each pitched in $10 bucks each, and the clerk gave us a key to room 237 (gasp!).  We could finally get some sleep after a very long day.

The next morning the manager realized the night-clerk had over-charged us; the room was only $25 dollars for the night, so he needed to refund $5 dollars to us, but all he had was dollar bills.  He asked one of the bellhops to take the (5) $1 dollar bills to our room and give it to us.  Along the way, the bellhop decided he was entitled to a "tip" of $2 dollars.  So, he took (2) dollar bills and stuffed them in his pocket.  He then knocked on our door and handed us each a $1 dollar bill.

After I realized what was going on with "Shifty" (the bellhop), I ran out of the room and demanded the punk-ass bellhop give us back his "tip", the bastage.  Who the hell did this snapper-head think he was giving himself a $2 dollar tip for just walking 20 feet down the hall???.

But something was wrong.  So, we each wound up paying $9 dollars for the room, right? ($10 dollars minus the $1 dollar refunded to each of us); and $9 dollars times 3 is $27 dollars, right?l ($9 x 3 people= $27 total).  And then the bellhop gave us back the $2 dollars he stole took as a tip; that equals $29 dollars ($27 dollars + $2 dollars), not the $30 dollars we paid!  Where did the other dollar go?  We paid $30 bucks last night, and now a dollar is missing.  Times is tough, and money don't go on trees, ya' know.  Plus, I'm cheap, so where did the other $1 dollar go?

I've asked around and no one can seem to tell me, so I figured I'd call into your show because, well, you know everything.  So, can you please help us out Mr. Radio guy?  Where'd our other dollah' go?

BTW - It was pretty creepy staying in Room 237 of that joint.  I kept feeling like there was another person in the room with us!  But that's a story for a different radio show.

"Our caller has a mysterious dilemma concerning money that magically appears and disappears. As strange as this seems, it is a lesser-known mathematical formula utilized by federal agencies and is standard procedure for most government transactions. Let's apply this formula to your bill."

"You start with a bill of $25 that you overpay by $5, making your gross expense $30. Now you are equitably refunded $3, one dollar each, with the remaining $2 left for uneven distribution. This reduces your gross expenditure to $27 with an additional $2 debit that brings your total bill to $29. This makes your actual refund only $1, the very dollar you thought you were missing."

"Now, on to a commercial break with messages from our sponsors."