Price tags · Puzzle #31 · Friday, October 30

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. 1. The Tooth Fairy: At the Tooth Fairy's average 2026 rate per tooth, what would she pay a child for a full set of 20 baby teeth?

   Baby teeth in a full set

   20

   The answer: about $117. The average gift per tooth jumped 17% in a year, from $5.01 to $5.84.

   1. 20teeth in a set of baby teeth
   2. ×$5under the pillow for each

   ≈$100

   The answer comes to about $117 (Delta Dental). On a napkin, take 20 in a set of baby teeth, times $5 under the pillow for each, and you get about $100. It's 1.2 times too low, which as a guess would still have scored 9.3 out of 10. Because only the ratio counts, anything between $58 and $230 was worth 7.0 or more.

   Source: Delta Dental, Original Tooth Fairy Poll press release

2. 2. A day at Ulta Beauty: How much did Ulta Beauty sell on an average day in its 2025 fiscal year?

   Stores

   More than 1,500 in the US

   Counts

   Stores, salons and online

   The answer: about $34 million. Ulta's net sales grew 9.7% in fiscal 2025, to $12.4 billion.

   1. 1,500stores in the US
   2. ×400shoppers a store each day
   3. ×$40a basket

   ≈$24M

   The answer comes to about $34 million (Ulta Beauty). Without looking anything up, take 1,500 stores in the US, times 400 shoppers a store each day, times $40 a basket, and you get about $24 million. That comes out 1.4 times too low, and a guess that far off still scores 8.5 out of 10. Any guess from $17 million to $68 million scores 7.0 or better, because the game only counts how many times off you are.

   Source: Ulta Beauty (SEC Form 10-K), Ulta Beauty Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025

3. 3. A year of video games: How much did Americans spend on video games in 2025, counting games, subscriptions, consoles and accessories?

   

   Measured by

   Circana, Sensor Tower and the ESA

   Change from 2024

   Up slightly

   The answer: about $60.8 billion. Content, from full games to subscriptions and in-game purchases, made up $52.4 billion of it.

   1. 130Mhouseholds in the US
   2. ×$30on games a month
   3. ×12months a year

   ≈$46.8B

   The real answer is about $60.8 billion (Entertainment Software Association). On a napkin, take 130 million households in the US, times $30 on games a month, times 12 months a year, and you get about $47 billion. It's 1.3 times too low, which as a guess would still have scored 8.9 out of 10. Any guess from $30 billion to $120 billion scores 7.0 or better, because the game only counts how many times off you are.

   Source: Entertainment Software Association, 2025 U.S. Consumer Spending on Video Games Nears Pandemic-Level Peak at $60.7 Billion, Second-Highest on Record

4. 4. The Eras Tour: How much did Taylor Swift's Eras Tour gross in ticket sales over its whole run, according to Pollstar?

   

   Shows

   149, in 51 stadiums

   Run

   March 2023 to December 2024

   The answer: about $2.2 billion. Pollstar counts it as the highest-grossing tour of all time, with 10.055 million tickets sold.

   1. 149shows
   2. ×70kfans a show
   3. ×$200a ticket

   ≈$2.09B

   The answer comes to about $2.2 billion (Pollstar, as of 2024). On a napkin, take 149 shows, times 70,000 fans a show, times $200 a ticket, and you get about $2.1 billion. The estimate is 1.1 times too low, close enough to score 9.8 out of 10. Because only the ratio counts, anything between $1.1 billion and $4.4 billion was worth 7.0 or more.

   Source: Pollstar, Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' Smashes All-Time Touring Record, Surpasses $2 Billion

All of puzzle #31 · The archive