problem: The real root of the equation $8x^3 - 3x^2 - 3x - 1 = 0$ can be written in the form $\frac{\sqrt[3]a + \sqrt[3]b + 1}{c}$, where $a$, $b$, and $c$ are positive integers. Find $a+b+c$.
solution: In general, the solutions to cubic equations are very messy, so we hope there is a trick to solving this particular equation.
  
  Noticing the $(3, 3, 1)$ pattern of coefficients, which appears in the expansion \[(x+1)^3 = x^3 + 3x^2 + 3x + 1,\]we rewrite the left-hand side as \[9x^3 - (x^3 + 3x^2 + 3x + 1) = 0\]or \[9x^3 - (x+1)^3 = 0.\]Thus, $9x^3 = (x+1)^3$, and since $x$ is real, \[x\sqrt[3]{9} = x+1 \implies x =\frac{1}{\sqrt[3]{9}-1}.\]To rationalize the denominator, we write \[x = \frac{1}{\sqrt[3]{9}-1} \cdot \frac{\sqrt[3]{81} + \sqrt[3]{9} + 1}{\sqrt[3]{81} + \sqrt[3]{9} + 1} = \frac{\sqrt[3]{81} + \sqrt[3]{9} + 1}{8}\]by the difference of cubes factorization. The answer is $81 + 9 + 8 = \boxed{98}$.