Skip to main content

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

4
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Assumption b is tricky because the OP explicitly states items must be in a padlocked box $\endgroup$
    – cr0
    Commented Mar 31, 2016 at 13:52
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Assumption (b) is also false, as it is imminently possible to hacksaw or bolt-cut through the limb of a padlock. But that fact obviates the entire thought experiment, so it should probably be discounted in the context of the question. $\endgroup$
    – S. G.
    Commented Mar 31, 2016 at 20:02
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @S.G. yeah, exactly; we must assume that these are somehow thief-proof padlocks, unless there's something special about padlocked boxes in particular that deters theft. Maybe the Kleptopian postal system sends lots of dummy boxes containing worthless junk around to make random box theft unprofitable? $\endgroup$
    – DSimon
    Commented Apr 1, 2016 at 14:08
  • $\begingroup$ Assumption b doesn't really matter. If all you have to do is get it to Jane still locked, then just send it in a padlocked box as usual. Obviously this is not the intent of the puzzle, though (assumption a). $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Apr 1, 2016 at 16:21