A man walks into a shop and steals a $100 bill from the cash register. A little later, he returns to the counter and uses that same bill to purchase $70 worth of merchandise. The shop owner accepts the money without realizing it was stolen and gives the man $30 in change. The question is: how much does the shop owner lose altogether?

At first, the puzzle might seem confusing. Should you add the original $100, the $70 worth of merchandise, and the $30 in change? That would give you $200, but it would count the same money more than once. To solve the riddle correctly, you need to follow what the shop owner actually loses.

Think about what happens during the transaction. The thief takes $100 from the register, then returns that same bill to pay for the merchandise. Although the owner gets the bill back, the shop has still given away goods worth $70 and an additional $30 in cash.

The correct answer is $100 in total. The shop owner loses $70 worth of merchandise and $30 in change. These two amounts add up to $100. The original stolen bill is returned to the register, so it should not be counted as an additional loss on top of the merchandise and change.

This brain teaser demonstrates how easily a simple situation can become confusing when money changes hands more than once. The key is to focus on the final result rather than adding every amount mentioned in the story. Did you get the correct answer on your first try, or did the riddle trick you? Share your answer and challenge your friends to solve it!