Did you get it right?
This cafe menu puzzle gives three price clues for coffee, pie, and a muffin. The goal is to find the total price of one of each. The trick is that the prices do not come out to whole dollars.
The Answer
The correct answer is: about $15.67.
Here is why
- Let coffee = C, pie = P, and muffin = M.
- 2C + P = 16, 2P + M = 14, and C + 2M = 17.
- Solving the three clues gives C = 53/9, P = 38/9, and M = 50/9.
- So C + P + M = 141/9 = 15.666…, which rounds to $15.67.
Why people miss it
Most people expect menu puzzles to use neat whole-dollar prices. This one uses a non-integer total, so quick guessing leads to the wrong answer.
What answer did you get before checking?
