Three tired and hungry people had a bag of apples. While the other two were asleep, one of the three awoke, ate one third of the apples, and went back to sleep. Later a second person awoke, ate one fourth of the remaining apples, and went back to sleep. Finally the first person awoke and ate one third of the remaining apples, leaving 8 apples in the bag. How many apples were in the bag originally?