Monday, November 3, 2008

The Pill Puzzle

You are on an unbelievably strict medical prescription. Every morning you have to take exactly one pill A and one pill B. You must keep this up for a month, or there will be dire consequences to your health. You have just enough pills to last you the month, and you can't afford to go to the pharmacist to get more.

And so, you are dismayed when halfway through the month, you make a mistake. Right after putting one of pill A in your hand, you accidentally poured two of pill B in your hand. The pharmacists apparently didn't have the foresight to make pills A and B different colors or anything. Now you have three indistinguishable pills in your hand, and you're not sure what to do with them.

How can you keep up with your prescriptions without having to go to the pharmacist to get more pills?

see the solution