Today from Bedtime Math: Suitcases in the Sky

When people fly on airplanes, once in a while they lose their suitcases. Either people forget how many bags they brought and don’t pick them up, or the airline sends it to the wrong city and loses track of where it went. Only about 1 out of 10,000 pieces of luggage end up in this sad way, since airlines try for 3-4 months to find the owner. Also, the airline does eventually give the passenger money to make up for losing it. That luggage doesn’t just disappear or float off into space, though. It’s still somewhere, so all those bags are eventually sent to the Unclaimed Baggage Store in Alabama, where anyone can shop for lost items, including everything from jewelry to shoes to musical instruments. With airlines flying millions of passengers per year, losing even just 1 of 10,000 bags still adds up to a huge number, so the store is huge, too: 40,000 square feet! It makes it all the more amazing that one guy actually found his own luggage while shopping there.

Now here's today's math~

Wee ones: If you bring 4 bags on your flight but then lose 1, how many do you have left?

Little kids: If an airplane has 20 pieces of luggage and one gets lost, how many bags make it to their owners?  Bonus: About 1/3 of the lost bags are donated (given) to poor people, which is nice. If an airport has 6 new lost bags this week, how many will they give away?

Big kids: The store has to clean 20,000 pieces of clothing every day. If 1/4 of that is underwear, how many pairs of underwear do they clean each day?  Bonus: How many pairs will they clean this month (May)?

Answers:
Wee ones: 3 bags left.

Little kids: 19 bags.  Bonus: 2 bags.

Big kids: 5,000 pairs.  Bonus: 155,000 pairs!