A viral TikTok video challenges viewers to solve the mystery of a missing pound.
An old TikTok video that has resurfaced online is making many scratch their heads in confusion. In the video, a TikTok user challenges viewers to solve the mystery of the missing pound while splitting a restaurant bill equally between three people.
The video begins with the person sitting with a notepad and pen, trying to solve the brainteaser himself. "Okay someone explain this to me, because I just don't get it," says the voiceover before describing the brainteaser.
The riddle is that three friends go out to a restaurant where their bill amounts to 25 pounds. In order to split the bill, each friend throws 10 pounds into the pound. When the waiter returns with their change, he keeps 2 pounds for himself and returns a pound each to each of the three friends.
Since each person received 1 pound back, it means they effectively paid 9 pounds each.
This means that together paid 27 pounds, explains the TikTok user. Since 27 pounds plus 2 pounds (the waiter's) equals 29 pounds, he asks viewers to explain where the missing 1 pound went.
Take a look at the video below and see if you can solve it:
Since being posted on the video-sharing platform in December last year, the brainteaser has collected over 1.6 million views and thousands of baffled comments.
"Too much math for me," wrote one person in the comments section.
"I don't get it," another confessed.
According to The Mirror, it is the wording of the brainteaser that makes it so confusing. The riddle is an example of informal fallacy, meaning the error lies in the reasoning.
To make it clearer, assume the total bill to be 27 pounds, including the waiter's tip. With the waiter's 2 pounds, the bill amounts to 27 pounds, and each friend gets a pound back.
Since 27 pounds added to 3 pounds equals 30 pounds, the 'missing' pound is not really missing after all.
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