QED Night
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The Bicycle Thief

Unreviewed import — a classic from the public domain; its solution has not been machine-checked yet.

math
Here is a little tangle that is perpetually cropping up in various guises. A cyclist bought a bicycle for £15 and gave in payment a cheque for £25. The seller went to a neighbouring shopkeeper and got him to change the cheque for him, and the cyclist, having received his £10 change, mounted the machine and disappeared. The cheque proved to be valueless, and the salesman was requested by his neighbour to refund the amount he had received. To do this, he was compelled to borrow the £25 from a friend, as the cyclist forgot to leave his address, and could not be found. Now, as the bicycle cost the salesman £11, how much money did he lose altogether?

Solution

Commit an attempt to unseal the proof. Write your answer — right or wrong, thinking it through is the point.

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