The Thirst and the Rusty Well
There is a legend of a man who was lost in the desert, dying of thirst. He stumbled on until he came to an abandoned house. Outside the dilapidated, windowless, weather–beaten, deserted shack was a pump. He stumbled forward and began pumping furiously, but no water came from the well. Then he noticed a small jug with a cork at the top and a note written on the side: "You have to prime the pump with water, my friend. P.S. And fill the jug again before you leave." He pulled out a cork and saw that the jug was full of water.
Should he pour it down the pump? What if it didn’t work? All of the water would be gone. If he drank the water from the jug, he could be s...