probabilities

[clnclarinet]

So this week was nice-- short and quiet. Since there weren't many people in the office, we did individual orders from Smallman's (faxed in together) for Friday lunch. When the sheet got to me, I immediately got a sinking feeling in my stomach. I have awful luck with orders like this. If the restaurant forgets one, it's usually mine. And indeed, on

Comments

[uberjames]

Try either using a pen name when you order. I have a friend who does this, but it's because his name is hard to spell, and Smith is just easier.
Or you could try ordering double and see if you get just one.
Is there any pattern to where in the list you are? First, last, middle?

[clnclarinet]

This time I was in the bottom right corner of the fax sheet, so that might have been it.

[uberjames]

Try a simple checksum. "This order contains food for N unique people."