Re: [math-fun] Secret Santa problem

Thu, 08 Jan 2004 11:18:25 -0800 Marc LeBrun <mlb@fxpt.com> Can you think of a way to generate secret derangements that's about as natural as drawing names from a hat? Drawing names from two hats? Split the names randomly, partitioning the group into reds and greens. The red people draw names from the hat with green names, and the green people draw hats from the hat with red names. I guess you know that your gift came from a particular half of the group, but that doesn't seem so terrible.