Price tags · Puzzle #26 · Sunday, October 25
Price tags: the answers
Four questions, each with one true number. Here they are with their answers, how to reason each one out, and where the number comes from. Play today's Price tags.
1. One Target store: How much did the average Target store sell in Target's fiscal year ending January 2026, online orders included?
Photo: Brainulator9, Public domain - Stores
- 1,995
The answer: about $52.5 million. Target's sales fell 1.7% that year, with fewer shopping trips and slightly smaller baskets.
Napkin math - 2,000shoppers a day
- ×$70a trip
- ×365days a year
≈$51.1M
The true figure is about $52.5 million (Target Corporation). On a napkin, take 2,000 shoppers a day, times $70 a trip, times 365 days a year, and you get about $51 million. That lands all but on the answer, worth 9.9 out of 10 as a guess. The target is wider than it looks: every guess between $26 million and $110 million scores at least 7.0.
Source: Target Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026
2. The Tooth Fairy's year: How much did the Tooth Fairy leave under pillows across the US in 2022, according to Delta Dental?
- Baby teeth a child loses
- about 20, from age 6 to 12
The answer: about $291 million. By 2026 the average gift for a single tooth had climbed to $5.84.
Napkin math - 25Mkids ages 6 to 12 in the US
- ×3teeth each lost a year
- ×$4per tooth
≈$300M
The true figure is about $291 million (Delta Dental). On a napkin, take 25 million kids ages 6 to 12 in the US, times 3 teeth each lost a year, times $4 per tooth, and you get about $300 million. That is almost exactly the real number, and a guess like it scores 9.9 out of 10. The target is wider than it looks: every guess between $150 million and $580 million scores at least 7.0.
Source: Delta Dental, Original Tooth Fairy Poll press release
3. Michael Jordan's 1998 'Last Dance' jersey: What did the jersey Michael Jordan wore in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals sell for at auction on Joopiter in August 2026?
Photo: United Press International, Public domain - What
- The white Chicago Bulls #23 jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 Finals
- Rarity
- The only publicly known white game-winning jersey from those Finals offered for sale
- Sold
- Joopiter (online), August 2026
The answer: $12.26 million. It became the most expensive basketball jersey ever sold at auction.
Napkin math: Another Jordan jersey from the same Finals sold for about $10 million in 2022, so this one should land a bit above that.
The real answer is $12.26 million (CNN). With no neat arithmetic to lean on, start with the order of magnitude: this one is in the tens of millions. Because only the ratio counts, anything between $6.1 million and $25 million was worth 7.0 or more.
Source: CNN, Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ 1998 Finals jersey sells for a record $12.26 million
4. A week at Dave & Buster's: How much did an average Dave & Buster's or Main Event take in during a week of its 2025 fiscal year?
- Counts
- Games and food, company-owned stores
The answer: about $170,000. About 63% of Dave & Buster's revenue in fiscal 2025 came from games and other entertainment, not food.
Napkin math - 1,000guests a day
- ×$25each on games and food
- ×7days a week
≈$175k
The true figure is about $170,000 (Dave & Buster's Entertainment). Without looking anything up, take 1,000 guests a day, times $25 each on games and food, times 7 days a week, and you get about $180,000. That is almost exactly the real number, and a guess like it scores 9.9 out of 10. Any guess from $85,000 to $340,000 scores 7.0 or better, because the game only counts how many times off you are.
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