Braingle: 'Tennis balls' Brain Teaser

Tennis balls

Logic puzzles require you to think. You will have to be logical in your reasoning.

Puzzle ID:	#152
Fun:	(2.57)
Difficulty:	(1.93)
Category:	Logic
Submitted By:	jerry1
Corrected By:	phrebh

There are three boxes of tennis balls in a warehouse. They have all been mislabeled. One box is labeled yellow tennis balls, one is labeled white and yellow tennis balls and one is labeled white tennis balls. Take one can of tennis balls out of one box without looking into the box or into any other box. By just looking at the color of this one can of balls, can you correctly label each of the boxes?

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Comments

Atropus Jan 31, 2005	I got all confused because I thought that "White & Yellow" meant some were white and some were yellow but I figured it out. The only bi-coloured tennis balls I have ever seen were hot pink and bright green (they were fuzzy and came with velcro stickpads to catch them with).
bbbz Feb 10, 2005	No Atropus, the balls are not multicolored. One of the boxes has both solid white and solid yellow balls inside. If for example you pull a can of white balls out of the box labeled "white and yellow" that has to be the "white" box. Remember, the labels ARE IN FACT NECESSARILY wrong in every case. This is the key info. The "Yellow and White" label than has to go on the box originally labeled "yellow" because that label cannot stay on that box. Again, none of the boxes can have correct labels to begin with. The "yellow" label goes to the only remaining box. However, I don't understand how this logic could work starting with any box other that the one labeled "white and yellow". If you pull a white can out of the "yellow" labeled box, how could you tell if the box was actually the all white box or if it was the white and yellow box?
darthforman May 18, 2005
boodler Nov 24, 2005	Yes
stephiesd Dec 18, 2005	MindTrap riddle. anyhow bbz, that was just his example. if white was pulled out of the white and yellow box, it would get the white label.
ncsu_gurl_2011 Jan 27, 2006	i didn't get it - i like to use objects to stephiesd - i love that game!!
TehIgnored Mar 14, 2006	To answer the question some posed....if I took a white and yellow can out....I would move the label from the one originally marked white and yellow, we'll call it box A....to the one I opened, which is in fact white and yellow....Box B...which was labeled Yellow......that means to move the label from Box C...it would HAVE to go on Box A...Box A would be white, Box B white and yellow, box C yellow....... I've seen this done with household items....but it all turns out the same. I love this teaser.
Vigo95 Mar 20, 2006	WHAT !!!!
Vigo95 Mar 20, 2006	my logic was to just go ahead and give up and look at the answer . to my disappointment the answer was also in CHINESE !!!!
warmonkey318 Mar 24, 2006	HUH??
MJfan23 Apr 04, 2006	see the problem with this teaser is that you are able to look at all of the tennis balls and the only reason that you would look at one to determine where all of the labels go is if you were trying to show off for your friends or something
mmmcla01 Apr 12, 2006	Was almost too easy-but I've heard a similar one before so that's probably why....good teaser though
king_leonard Apr 16, 2006	wow i totally got that one wrong i didnt think u could and the answer was sorta strange... anyways great teaser!
hsbanana90 Aug 20, 2006	i got it
oddrey May 05, 2007	I actually got that one!!
Waka Jan 08, 2011	Great teaser. I though of the possibility of a empty box, but in that way it could never be solved.