Three cooks have each paid one third to purchase a bag of herbs. In the past, two of the cooks have divided their purchases in the following manner: First one cook would divide the herb, by eye, into two piles she considered to be equal. The second cook would then choose the pile she thought was bigger.

By what process may the three cooks divide their herbs in such a way that each was content that she had recieved at least one third of the total? (No scales or other devices are available to assist the division)

The first cook divides the erb in 2 groups she considers are equal. then the second takes the group she considers the bigger. Both the first and second cooks divide their groups into 3 groups they consider equal and we have now 6 groups. The third cook takes one group from the 3 made by the first and one group from the three made by the second, in each case she takes the bigger; this way each will have what they consider to be one third of the erb.

Posted by Reydel on 2006-02-02 08:40:51