Price tags · Puzzle #39 · Saturday, November 7

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. Valentine's Day flowers: How much were Americans expected to spend on flowers for Valentine's Day in 2026?

   

   Most popular Valentine's gift

   Candy

   Survey by

   NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics

   The answer: about $3.1 billion. Flowers trailed jewelry ($7 billion), an evening out ($6.3 billion) and clothing ($3.5 billion).

   1. 40Mhouseholds buying flowers (about 1 in 3)
   2. ×$60a bouquet

   ≈$2.4B

   The answer comes to about $3.1 billion (National Retail Federation). To reason it out, take 40 million households buying flowers (about 1 in 3), times $60 a bouquet, and you get about $2.4 billion. The estimate is 1.3 times too low, close enough to score 8.9 out of 10. Any guess from $1.6 billion to $6.2 billion scores 7.0 or better, because the game only counts how many times off you are.

   Source: National Retail Federation, Valentine’s Day Spending Expected to Reach New Records

2. 2. A year of Golden Gate tolls: About 17 million drivers paid the Golden Gate Bridge's southbound toll in the year to June 2026. How much toll money did the bridge collect that year?

   Who pays

   Only southbound drivers, heading into San Francisco

   The answer: about $170 million. Northbound drivers cross free, so about 34 million vehicles used the bridge that year but only half of them paid.

   1. 17Mdrivers paying the toll
   2. ×$10a crossing

   ≈$170M

   The true figure is about $170 million (Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District). On a napkin, take 17 million drivers paying the toll, times $10 a crossing, and you get about $170 million. That is almost exactly the real number, and a guess like it scores 10.0 out of 10. The target is wider than it looks: every guess between $85 million and $340 million scores at least 7.0.

   Source: Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, Annual Vehicle Crossings and Toll Revenues

3. 3. The Christmas Spectacular: How much did the 2025 run of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the Rockettes, bring in?

   

   Shows

   215 performances

   Venue

   Radio City Music Hall, New York

   The answer: about $191 million. Over 1.2 million tickets were sold for the 2025 holiday season, the show's highest attendance in 25 years.

   1. 200shows
   2. ×6,000seats at Radio City
   3. ×$150a ticket

   ≈$180M

   The true figure is about $191 million (Madison Square Garden Entertainment). On a napkin, take 200 shows, times 6,000 seats at Radio City, times $150 a ticket, and you get about $180 million. It's 1.1 times too low, which as a guess would still have scored 9.7 out of 10. Because only the ratio counts, anything between $95 million and $380 million was worth 7.0 or more.

   Source: Madison Square Garden Entertainment (SEC Form 10-K), Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026

4. 4. A family's water for a year: According to the EPA, about how much does the average American family spend on water in a year?

   Each person uses

   About 82 gallons a day at home

   The answer: more than $1,000. The EPA says WaterSense fixtures and Energy Star appliances can cut more than $380 a year off that.

   1. 12months a year
   2. ×$80on each water bill

   ≈$960

   The true figure is more than $1,000 (US Environmental Protection Agency, as of 2024). Without looking anything up, take 12 months a year, times $80 on each water bill, and you get about $960. That is almost exactly the real number, and a guess like it scores 9.8 out of 10. The target is wider than it looks: every guess between $500 and $2,000 scores at least 7.0.

   Source: US Environmental Protection Agency (WaterSense), Statistics and Facts

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