a puzzle sequence that is going around

[Richard Guy]

It was one of the answers suggested on the
`King of Wales' webpage.    R.

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005, David Wilson wrote:

> At http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ask/submit.html, we are told that
> that the sequence is from a contest at http://www.neopets.com/.
> neopets.com is gaming site devoted to virtual pets for children.
> The sequence generates a few other Google hits, one of them
> references http://www.neopets.com/games/conundrum.phtml,
> a page I cannot read because the neopets.com site is member-only.
> Presumably this latter page is the Internet source of the sequence.
> It seems odd that such a tough chestnut would be aimed at such
> a young audience.
>
> So where did you get your purported answer, Dr. Guy?
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Guy" <rkg at cpsc.ucalgary.ca>
> To: <ham>; "N. J. A. Sloane" <njas at research.att.com>
> Cc: <seqfan at ext.jussieu.fr>
> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 4:45 PM
> Subject: Re: a puzzle sequence that is going around
>
>
>> Evidently  42  but no reason given.
>> 
>> Come in, `Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' fans.   R.
>> 
>> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005, N. J. A. Sloane wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Does anyone know the answer to this puzzle?
>>> 
>>> Fill in the missing term:
>>> 
>>> 2616, 3, 11, 10850, ________, 25, 2038
>>> 
>>> Several people have asked me.  If you Google 2616, 3, 11, 10850 you
>>> will find several web pages that mention it.  I only looked briefly,
>>> and did not find the solution.
>>> 
>>> NJAS
>>> 
>