Introduction
There is a way to get a free donut at a coffee shop near the Stack Exchange offices.
However, you are required to solve a phrase and convert it into a single number.
Codes
You watch as a cashier says:
Do not use the toilets here. We're washing them.
And then the person replies:
$38$.
They get a free donut.
Next, another person walks in and you listen again. The cashier says:
Donuts by the dozen are $3.
The person replies:
$20$.
Once again, the cashier gives the person a free donut.
You go back the following day and watch as more people get their own free donuts.
The cashier says:
Donuts are mentioned somehow as a secret here, and thus, this is a steganography-related question.
The person replies:
$20$.
Once again, they get a free donut.
The cashier says to another customer:
Your donuts aren't considered free yet.
The customer replies:
$50$.
This is also correct, and the cashier gives them free donuts.
You go up to the counter and the cashier says:
No donuts right now. We're making some more.
You come up with a random number:
Hmm... $44$?
She replies:
Sorry, but I do not know what you are talking about.
(You saw some donuts being handed to a paying person later, so you know she wasn't telling the truth when she said there were no donuts)
You are really hungry and want to get a free donut. What number should you say when you come back? You have promised her you will come back with the correct number (although she just shrugs)
Hints
Donut ignore the pun in this hint.
Do you nut see a tasty treat hidden in this?
Why do you nut take what the cashier said literally? "Donuts are mentioned somehow as a secret here, and thus, this is a steganography-related question."
$6+2+7+2+8+2+9+2+10+2 = 50$.
Answer
You should have answered
40
to begin with, but now you can answer
149
to get a free donut.
The pattern is as follows. You need to spell the word "donut" using the letters the cashier used, in order. Then, add up the word positions and absolute character positions. Donut must be spelled in order, using the order of the characters that the cashier uses.
Do not use the toilets here. We're washing them.
D = First word, first character = 1, 1
O = First word, second character = 1, 2
N = Second word, fourth character (including spaces!) = 2, 4
U = Third word, eighth character = 3, 8
T = Fourth word, twelfth character = 4, 121 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 3 + 8 + 4 + 12 = 38
Donuts by the dozen are $3.
D = 1, 1
O = 1, 2
N = 1, 3
U = 1, 4
T = 1, 51 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 5 = 20
Donuts are mentioned somehow as a secret here, and thus, this is a steganography-related question.
D = 1, 1
O = 1, 2
N = 1, 3
U = 1, 4
T = 1, 51 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 5 = 20
Your donuts aren't considered free yet.
D = 2, 6
O = 2, 7
N = 2, 8
U = 2, 9
T = 2, 102 + 6 + 2 + 7 + 2 + 8 + 2 + 9 + 2 + 10 = 50
No donuts right now. We're making some more.
D = 2, 4
O = 2, 5
N = 2, 6
U = 2, 7
T = 2, 82 + 4 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 2 + 7 + 2 + 8 = 40
So, you should have answered 40 to begin with. Now, the cashier has said another sentence which we can apply the rule to:
Sorry, but I do not know what you are talking about.
D = 4, 14
O = 4, 15
N = 5, 17
U = 8, 33
T = 10, 394 + 14 + 4 + 15 + 5 + 17 + 8 + 33 + 10 + 39 = 149
So now, you may answer with 149 to get your free donut.
Bonus confirmation pointed out by Arth, shown in a comment on flu's answer:
I can see a hint, but donut ignore that I still see steganogrophy-related in the text.
D = 7, 23
O = 7, 24
N = 7, 25
U = 7, 26
T = 7, 277 + 23 + 7 + 24 + 7 + 25 + 7 + 26 + 7 + 27 = 160
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