Easter Eggs

by Kevin J. Lin

In a recent "For Better or For Worse," (a long-running syndicated comic strip by Lynn Johnston) the mother is shown boiling eggs for Easter.

(For those who don't know, painting and hiding eggs is a popular tradition for many people who celebrate Easter. Small children run around Easter morning looking for the decorated eggs. Hard-boiling minimizes the amount of mess likely to ensue when they find the eggs.)

The mother boils half a dozen eggs, marks each of them with a small "X", and puts them back in their carton with the rest. Presumably, the remaining eggs will be used for some other less festive purpose like breakfast.

The punchline of the comic strip shows the smallest child of the family informing the mother that she finished putting X's on the remaining eggs.

Ok, now here's the puzzle: What is the easiest way for the mother to figure out which eggs are for Easter, and which are for breakfast?

See the Solution