The Pet Store - Can you solve it?

14. The Pet Store

A sign in a pet store reads the following:

Gold Fish: $8.00
Beta Fish: $9.00
Puffer Fish: $10.00

A man walks up to the counter and hands the clerk $10.00. The clerk asks him "Do you want a Gold Fish, Beta Fish or Pufferfish?" The man picks out a Puffer Fish and leaves the store. Another man comes in and hands the clerk $10.00. Without saying anything the clerk hands him a Pufferfish and the man walks out of the store. A Puffer Fish was exactly what he wanted. How did the clerk know this?

NOTE: the man and the clerk have never met before.

Submitted by mallk10 · Added 14 August 2009

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Solution:

The clerk knew that the second man also wanted a Puffer Fish because he handed over $10 in exact change, indicating he was aware of the price. Since the first man had just purchased a Puffer Fish for $10, it was logical for the clerk to assume that the second man wanted the same fish.

Comments (4)

Callyst 17 August 2009

sign language or he pointed at the fish maybe

rj82330 18 August 2009

I´ve just spent the day haggling with Guatemalan waiters for change in restaurants, hence the flash of inspiration!

If you give someone a $10 bill, there´s no way of telling how much your desired product costs: you may require change.

If you give someone $10 in EXACT CHANGE, you presumably know that what you are buying costs exactly $10.

This is what the second man did.

Person A hands over a single note, and has to specify which fish he wants.

Person B hands over a $5 bill, and FIVE $1 bills. It is clear he is trying to hand over $10 exactly, so wants the Puffer Fish.

EDWARD de BONO 9 April 2010

great answer

cat 4 July 2011

The second man brought his loud, obnoxious, overbearing wife with him. The clerk surmised the man wanted the poison from the puffer fish to get rid of his wife.

Lateral Thinking Puzzles

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