PERCENTAGES DON'T ADD -- A sales clerk told our friend Dinty Ramble that in addition to the offered 20 percent discount, there would be another 10 percent taken off the list price, for a total of 30 percent. Dinty tried to explain that it doesn't work that way; the 10 percent comes off the already lowered price, not the initial price, so it cannot total 30. His protestations fell on deaf ears. Example: At a list price of $100, a discount of 20 percent brings the price down to $80. The addition 10 percent comes off the $80, and would reduce the price by another $8, bringing the bottom line to $72. Total discount: 28 percent. And no, this has nothing to do with antelope. Or even cantelope. Besides, said Dinty's wife, we can't elope, we're already married.
TRIPLE TROUBLE -- A 300 percent increase is not the same as three times as much. It's actually 400 percent. Consider: From two to four is a doubling, and a 100 percent increase. And so on.
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