Weird challenge question

[Blue]

I was registering at another forum today and got this challenge question:

If you eat half a dozen of apples, but put three back, how many do you have left?

I realize this is to stop spammers from registering with a bot, but... yuck. How do you put only 3 back?

[domo_hello_kitty]

You eat 6, then put 3 back? Or you can up-chuck them.

EDIT: Answer is here. Scroll down to the bottom of first post, because if I post the answer here, bots can easily beat that question.

[Blue]

I disagree with their answer as there isn't enough information to get there. I need to know how many I started with.
Do I consider the apples I've consumed? Hopefully not. If I put 3 back, I certainly don't have those anymore - I put them back.
If I started with nine, then I have none. If I had a dozen, then I have 3.

[domo_hello_kitty]

They forgot to mention that you start with 12 possibly? Try the answer and see if it works.

[Jacob]

I disagree with their answer as there isn't enough information to get there. I need to know how many I started with.
Do I consider the apples I've consumed? Hopefully not. If I put 3 back, I certainly don't have those anymore - I put them back.
If I started with nine, then I have none. If I had a dozen, then I have 3.

I'm with Blue on this. It's the Rules Lawyer in me.

[Blue]

Woo hoo! Jacob is on my side!! I can't lose

[Siniri]

Yeah, it's a bad question. Since they imply that the starting number is in there, I'd guess there were "a dozen of apples" to start. If you eat 6 of them, they're gone -- turned into applesauce in your tummy. Then which three do you put "back"? Back to where? If the answer is what DHK said, then it must be 3 of the ones you ate. But then my answer would be "6 and a pile of nasty applesauce." If you return three uneaten ones (to the store?), then you'd still have 3 uneaten ones left (and *maybe* the 6 in your stomach, but they're not really apples anymore). Then again, you could plant the seeds, and in a few years you'd have dozens of dozens left, right, and center!

(This is why teachers hate smart alecks.)

[Mongrel]

There is a missing word in that question. Add "of" between "half" and "a dozen."