This is the first numerical problem I ever did. It demonstrates the power of computers:

Enter lots of data on calorie & nutritive content of foods. Instruct the thing to maximize a function describing nutritive content, with a minimum level of each component, for fixed caloric content. The results are that one should eat each day:

1/2 chicken
1 egg
1 glass of skim milk
27 heads of lettuce.

-- Rev. Adrian Melott