For those who enjoy solving math problems, here's a good one for you:

Once upon a time, there was a woman (oh, we'll just say that she's 47) who went to Walmart to do her weekly shopping.  On her list was Colgate toothpaste.  And, in her hand was a coupon for $1.00 off.  This was a very good deal and she was excited about saving her family money.

When she got to the toothpaste aisle, however, she noticed all the different types that Colgate had to offer.  Now, she has two boys (oh, we'll just say they're 9 and 11), so she didn't really want any fancy-smancy toothpaste like Total Advanced Whitening Paste or anything developed with dual-silica technology.  She only wanted the regular stuff... as in, just plain toothpaste.  After looking over all the red, white and blue boxes, she finally noticed the words "Regular Paste" and grabbed it up and place it in her cart.

Upon checking off the last item on her list, she proceded to the cashier.  There, she handed over her coupons and smiled, knowing that she had gotten such a good deal.

Later at home, the toothpaste was taken out of the box and laid beside the tube that was almost finished.  Here is a sample picture, just to give you some idea of what it might have looked like:

That's when the woman realized that she had made a mistake.  She had bought Crest toothpaste, using the $1 coupon for Colgate!

She didn't know what to do at this point.  It was too late to correct that day's balance at Walmart.  Chances are, though, that somebody bought a tube of Colgate toothpaste that day anyway, so the coupon could have been used for that purchase.

Or, would it?

That's when the woman got to thinking about how this mistake would affect everyone involved.  Who would gain and who would lose?

Of course, she still saved a $1.  The person who possibly bought Colgate that day (to justify the use of the coupon), would have paid the regular amount.  But, they weren't aware of the coupon anyway.

Would Walmart's books balance that day since there was possibly a purchase of Colgate to offset the coupon?

But, what about the Colgate company?  Or, the Crest company?  Would this all balance out for them?

This really confused me... er, the woman... the more she thought about it and was wondering if anyone else could straighten this out for her.

Thanks!  J