math question from a math dunce

[Bertha Venation]

I heard an ad for a service on the radio: "20% off. That's like getting two months free." With this information, can you tell how much the service costs? I'm inclined to say no.

[LeftyFingerPop]

1. You are correct.

With no cost information, there is nothing to base a formula on.

[Bertha Venation]

2. Thanks, Lefty.

:dunce: <--- me

[LeftyFingerPop]

4. You are welcome, Bertha...

and you are not a dunce. On the surface, it seems like there would be a way to solve for it algebraically, but with no cost information at all, it is impossible. :hi:

[madinmaryland]

3. Kind of off-target, but that reminds me of the Yogi Berra comment...

"They give you cash, which is just as good as money!"

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. No, you can't. But you CAN tell the people "It's getting 2.4 months free".

Not 2 months.

Though they did say it was "like", it would be to their advantage to say it's 2.4 months. That's "like" two and a half!

[HopeHoops]

6. That reminds me of an ad from circa 1980: "Almost MORE pain reliever than the leading brand."

"Almost more" can mean the same amount or just slightly less. The strong emphasis was on "MORE" and the "almost" was barely audible. No matter what is actually said in an ad like that, it can be translated directly into: "this product is only for dumbfucks".