Game Theory Applied in Pentagon Washroom

Game theory apparently has found a new application in the washrooms of the Pentagon. Isolated in their individual stalls, the military’s leading strategists are presented with a two choices: to flush or not to flush. Obviously, the best possible solution would be for all the generals to flush. However, a problem crops up because none of the generals know the true intentions of the others. If one general flushes and another doesn’t, then the general who flushed may be presented with a rank, shitty toilet seat on his next trip to the can, while the general who didn’t flush may be rewarded with a clean, sanitary toilet fit to eat off of despite his previous disgusting behavior. Under this situation, all the generals conclude that their most logical course of action is not to flush. While this dooms them to an increasingly vile bathroom, it also ensures that the other generals share their fate. Use of game theory has also been reported in the White House, where both Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice have secretly chosen to take the last doughnut for themselves after the national security briefing rather than share it.