A brain teaser has recently gone viral, sweeping across social media and leaving countless people scratching their heads as they try to figure out how much money a store actually lost in a situation that, at first, seems simple. This puzzle was shared by the X account (formerly Twitter) called “Out of Context Human Race,” and it presents a scenario that has turned into a hot topic for debate. It’s a tricky math problem involving a stolen $100 bill, and although it appears straightforward, it has generated over 50 million views and sparked endless discussions. People from all over the world have offered different answers, each with its own reasoning. But how much did the store really lose? Let’s take a closer look and break it all down in detail.
Here’s the scenario in question: A man steals a $100 bill from a store’s cash register. Afterward, he uses that same $100 bill to buy $70 worth of goods from the very same store. On top of that, he receives $30 in change after the purchase. So, the big question is this: how much money did the store lose? It seems like a no-brainer, right? But not so fast. The scenario has sparked fierce debates among puzzle enthusiasts, math experts, and curious minds alike. Plenty of people have weighed in with different answers, and the conversation has been going strong ever since this riddle hit the internet.
To get to the bottom of it, we need to break the situation down step by step and figure out where the losses really occur. First, there’s the theft. The man steals $100 directly from the store’s cash register. At this moment, the store has suffered an immediate loss of $100. Then, the man returns to the store and makes a purchase. He buys $70 worth of goods, paying for them with the same $100 bill he previously stole. Technically, the store gets the $100 back at this point, which cancels out the original cash loss, at least temporarily. But don’t forget, the store handed over $70 worth of merchandise as part of the deal. That’s a real loss because the store’s inventory just went down by $70 worth of goods. Finally, the man also gets $30 in change. This is real money that the store gives him, which adds another layer to the loss. Now, we have to figure out how all these transactions add up.
There are several popular answers that people have offered. One of the most common solutions claims the store lost $100 in total. People who support this explanation say that while the man stole $100, he returned it when he made his purchase. But the store still handed over $70 in goods and $30 in cash change. If you add $70 and $30, you get $100, which represents the true loss. This reasoning focuses on the tangible goods and cash the store parted with, ignoring the fact that the stolen $100 bill made its way back into the register.
Another theory argues that the store actually lost $130. Supporters of this answer claim that the store first lost $100 from the initial theft. Then, on top of that, they lost $30 in change given back during the purchase. In their view, the stolen $100 bill doesn’t really cancel out the theft, because it’s still stolen money. So, the total loss comes to $130—$100 from the theft plus $30 in change. This line of thinking gets a little murky because it doesn’t factor in the fact that the $100 bill ended up back at the store, which essentially cancels out the first loss when looking at the cash on hand.
The third and most logical answer returns to the $100 total loss, but explains it in a clearer way. The stolen $100 bill was used to buy $70 worth of merchandise, and the store gave away $30 in cash. The $100 that was stolen and returned cancels out, leaving the store with a real loss of $70 worth of goods and $30 in cash, which adds up to $100. This explanation makes the most sense when you focus on what the store physically lost during the transaction.
So, what’s the final answer? After walking through the entire process, the store’s actual loss is $100. This includes $70 worth of goods that left the store and $30 in cash that was handed over as change. The confusion often stems from the focus on the stolen $100 bill itself. But once you understand how value moves during the transaction, it becomes clear that the real loss comes from the inventory and cash that left the store, not from the bill that found its way back into the register.
This brain teaser has captured people’s attention not because it’s an impossible math problem, but because it challenges us to think about how money and value move in a transaction. In the end, the store’s net loss is $100, made up of $70 worth of goods and $30 in cash. If you found this one tricky, you’re not alone. Many people have struggled with it, but now that you’ve seen the full breakdown, you can be confident in saying the store lost $100. Did you figure it out on your own?