Another Packing Problem

Packing things poses some surprisingly complicated mathematical problems.  Like some of the nastiest problems in math, there isn’t necessarily a standard algorithm you can use to figure out how to pack things efficiently.

I tried to put five hard-boiled eggs in a cylindrical tupperware container.

But the top wouldn’t quite close.

Perturbed, I squeezed the eggs into the cylinder in a different manner.  This took some doing, as they kept falling over.

But they fit!  And amazingly, they didn’t even touch the bottom!