There was a shipwreck at sea and Buck, Lance and Jack were washed ashore on a small island. Reaching the shore, exhausted, they all fell asleep. Buck woke first and saw that a box of bananas had been washed ashore. He ate one third of the bananas and went back to sleep. Next, Lance woke up an seeing the box of bananas, ate one third of what was left and fell asleep. Jack woke up next and assumed that the other two hadn't eaten any bananas, so he ate one third of what remained. When Jack had finished, there were eight bananas left over. How many bananas were in the box originally?

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THE SOLUTION

27. If eight were left, it would represent 2/3rds of the amount Jack found. Therefore, Lance left 12, and if 12 represented 2/3rds of the amount Lance found, then he found 18. Since 18 represents 2/3rds of the original amount, there must have been 27 originally.