[wolfgang]

According to my fantasy..

Ali baba wanted to kill only the gang boss hiding in one of the forty Jars.

the jars were in a row ( 1 to 40 ),and each 8 jars have the same color.

the blue jars were in the middle.

the white were right to the red.

the yellow were left to the black.

the last jar was not black

As the Boss hates the black color , he left 10 jars in between.

In which Jar was the Boss? which No., and which color?

[preflop]

My guess

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Jar #27, which is Red

[Guest]

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that he was in #26, red...

[Guest]

^...but only if assuming that "left to the..." or "right to the" means that the jars are next to each other.

[Guest]

ohh... I messed it up! @preflop is right, I forgot that "10 in between" means I add 11, not 10

[Guest]

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#27

Jars 1-8 are yellow

Jars 9-16 are black

Jars 17-24 are blue

Jars 25-32 are red (boss is in #27, leaving 8 blues and 2 reds between him and black jars)

Jars 33-40 are white

Edited October 26, 2010 by Lamoras

[Guest]

Assuming "left to the..." and "right to the..." mean directly to the left and right, then:

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27 red

1-8 yellow

9-16 black

17-24 blue

25-32 red (in #27)

33-40 white

But if they dont necessarily mean directly to the left and right,

then:

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14 yellow or red (as they are interchangeable but still meet the conditions)

1-8 red/yellow

9-16 yellow/red (in #14)

17-24 blue

25-32 black

33-40 white

[Guest]

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Wouldn't the boss already be dead if he was in a jar? I can't really think of any jars big enough to fit a living person...

[Guest]

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(i.e. red blue white is invalid, red white is valid) and all eight jars of each color are together, then the order is yellow, black, blue, red, white and the answer is the 27th jar which is red (8*2+10+1 = 27).

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(i.e. red blue white is valid, red white is valid) and all eight jars of each color are together, then the answer could be the following:

colors: W = white, R = red, Y = yellow, U = blue, B = black

rules: ??U??, *R*W*, *Y*B*, *B*?

symbols: ? = single unknown color, * = zero to many unknown colors

Applying ??U??, *B*? and *Y*B* we get YBU??, ?YUB? and Y?UB?

Applying YBU?? and *R*W* we get YBURW - 27th jar, red (8*2+10+1 = 27) (40-(8*4+10+1) = -3/out of bounds)

Applying ?YUB? and *R*W* we get RYUBW - 13th jar, yellow (8*4+10+1 = 43/out of bounds) (40-(8*2+10+1) = 13)

Applying Y?UB? and *R*W* we get YRUBW - 13th jar, red (8*4+10+1 = 43/out of bounds) (40-(8*2+10+1) = 13)

In these scenarios, Ali baba would know the position of the colors and could make the determination easily.

It is strange that Ali baba knows the gang boss is in the 11th jar from the closest black jar. How does he know it is ten in between and not eight or twenty?

Edited October 26, 2010 by Egghead

[Guest]

to be assumed that the jars are all together as one colour, and they are next to each other as per the conditions.

[Guest]

  On 10/26/2010 at 5:48 PM, wolfgang said:

According to my fantasy..

Ali baba wanted to kill only the gang boss hiding in one of the forty Jars.

the jars were in a row ( 1 to 40 ),and each 8 jars have the same color.

the blue jars were in the middle.

the white were right to the red.

the yellow were left to the black.

the last jar was not black

As the Boss hates the black color , he left 10 jars in between.

In which Jar was the Boss? which No., and which color?

  Reveal hidden contents

27th jar which is red

[wolfgang]

  On 10/26/2010 at 8:37 PM, beanzz said:

Assuming "left to the..." and "right to the..." mean directly to the left and right, then:

  Reveal hidden contents

27 red

1-8 yellow

9-16 black

17-24 blue

25-32 red (in #27)

33-40 white

But if they dont necessarily mean directly to the left and right,

then:

  Reveal hidden contents

14 yellow or red (as they are interchangeable but still meet the conditions)

1-8 red/yellow

9-16 yellow/red (in #14)

17-24 blue

25-32 black

33-40 white

left to ,or right to...means Directly.....and means also left or right to the jars,and not to your left or your right!!

[Guest]

  On 10/27/2010 at 7:08 PM, wolfgang said:

left to ,or right to...means Directly.....and means also left or right to the jars,and not to your left or your right!!

So then how can this be... Are you saying that I am looking at the jars from the wrong side? (which is impossible to tell by the way)

No matter which way I look at it

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27 or 14 red

1-8 yellow or white

9-16 black or red

17-24 blue

25-32 red or black

33-40 white or yellow

(the above being respective to my answers)

So what is the answer???

[Guest]

  On 10/26/2010 at 5:48 PM, wolfgang said:

According to my fantasy..

Ali baba wanted to kill only the gang boss hiding in one of the forty Jars.

the jars were in a row ( 1 to 40 ),and each 8 jars have the same color.

the blue jars were in the middle.

the white were right to the red.

the yellow were left to the black.

the last jar was not black

As the Boss hates the black color , he left 10 jars in between.

In which Jar was the Boss? which No., and which color?

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[Yellow][black][blue][Red][White]

Black ends at 16

let n be the jar which is 10 jars away from last black so

(n-16)-1 = 10 => n = 10+17 = 27

Answer: 27th Jar which is Red Color

[wolfgang]

  On 10/27/2010 at 9:02 PM, beanzz said:

So then how can this be... Are you saying that I am looking at the jars from the wrong side? (which is impossible to tell by the way)

No matter which way I look at it

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27 or 14 red

1-8 yellow or white

9-16 black or red

17-24 blue

25-32 red or black

33-40 white or yellow

(the above being respective to my answers)

So what is the answer???

14 red

[Guest]

1st I got it 27th,

after reading your comments i thought i wud try again, you are right it can be 14th or 27th.

Cheers!!!

rjags