Here is one to try on your next fast food date. My husband and I were in the airport Wendy's enjoying our fries with ranch dressing and noticed the statement on the container read, "We figured out that there are 256 ways to personalize a Wendy's hamburger. Luckily someone was paying attention in math class." So naturally, we asked each other how many condiments does Wendy's offer to result in 256 combinations of burgers?
I immediately answered 8 condiments, using the notion of power sets. 2 to the what equals 256? Meanwhile, my husband attempted to solve the equation nC0 + nC1 + ... + nCn = 256 and also got 8 (after what seemed like hours after I gave my answer). Alternatively, I suppose, you can just take a walk over to the fixings bar and count them. Thanks Wendy's for making our layover so entertaining!
