 This is a variation of an example first published by Littlewood (1953), although he notes that his version of the example was already well-known at the  time.[3]  \(N\) individuals enjoy a picnic supper together which includes barbecued spareribs. At the end of the meal, \(k \ge 1\) of these diners have barbecue sauce on their faces. Since no one can see her own face, none of the messy diners knows whether he or she is messy. Then the cook who served the spareribs returns with a carton of ice cream. Amused by what he sees, the cook rings the dinner bell and makes the following announcement: “At least one of you has barbecue sauce on her face. I will ring the dinner bell over and over, until anyone who is messy has wiped her face. Then I will serve dessert.” For the first \(k - 1\) rings, no one does anything. Then, at the \(k\)th ring, each of the messy individuals suddenly reaches for a napkin, and soon afterwards, the diners are all enjoying their ice cream.