quantum coin tossing

[fflo]

Quantum coin tossing, a well-known problem in cryptography, is an answer to the problem of "flipping a coin via telephone"---a game where [sic] [that's math. jargon; get over it] two remote players (who distrust each other) try to generate a uniformly distributed random bit which is common to both parties. The example the paper I'm reading gives is "Alice and Bob want to flip a coin by telephone. They have just divorced, live in different cities, want to decide who gets the car. Bob would not like to tell Alice 'heads' and hear Alice (at the other end of the line) say: 'Here it goes... I'm flipping the coin.... You lost!'"

Frankly I think Alice and Bob would be better off with another method entirely.