Even something as simple as a clock can have a fascinating effect in puzzle form. (Image source: Pixabay)
Solving puzzles is only really fun if you have a good enough chance of finding the solution. Nevertheless, I was recently fascinated by a puzzle that I had no idea how to crack at first glance.
I am very curious how you are doing with this puzzle and if you have an idea faster than me how to approach the matter. Before we take a closer look at the whole thing and the solution, I have to escort an elephant out of the room.
No, it doesn’t really have anything to do with technology. It’s more about science, but I don’t want to reveal exactly what kind just yet, because that could already be considered a kind of spoiler.
So how did I come up with this article and why is it still appearing on GameStar Tech? I am in my daily research for possible topics in the Technology
-Pocket area stumbled across this riddle that comes from the Youtube-Kanal MindYourDecisions originates. What was particularly fascinating for me was how helpless I was at the beginning – and how simple the solution is in the end. But before I give too much away, let’s first look at the problem.
What time is it and what is the problem?
It is a stationary clock with no numbers that has been rotated and whose three hands are all the same length. You can see them in the following picture:
In addition to the missing digits and the fact that you cannot tell which marking stands for which time due to the rotated position, the hands of the same length cause another problem: You do not know which hands represent the seconds or the minutes and shows the hours. However, you can still reliably find out what time is currently being displayed.
The key to the solution is based on logic (which, by the way, was a mandatory part of the curriculum when I was studying philosophy). You can find the appropriate step-by-step resolution in the following spoiler box. If you enjoy puzzling, it’s best to ignore him for now. I wish you a lot of fun with the puzzle!
The solution to the riddle
First, let’s give the pointers a label:
- Pointer A points slightly down left
- Pointer B points slightly down and to the right
- Pointer C points to the upper left
It is crucial that hands A and C point exactly to one of the main markings on the edge. If one of the two hands were the hour hand, then the minute and second hands would have to be exactly on top of each other at the twelve o’clock position because a full hour had just been reached. But that’s not the case, after all we can see three pointers. So only hand B can be the hour hand.
It also means that the seconds hand must be at the 12 o’clock position as either hand A or hand C is the minute hand and both are pointing exactly at one of the major markers. This leaves only two cases to consider:
- Hand A is the second hand at the twelve o’clock position and hand C is the minute hand
- Hand C is the seconds hand at the twelve o’clock position and Hand A is the minutes hand
Let’s start with the first case, which would mean the following hour markers:
If this were the correct solution with hand C as the minute hand at the two o’clock position, then the hour hand should not be just short of the seven o’clock position, as is the case here, since there are only ten minutes since the beginning of the hour would have passed. So the following second solution with hand C as the second hand and hand A as the minute hand must be correct:
And lo and behold: the positions of all the hands match here, so it is ten to five and the hour hand is just before the hour mark. When placed in the direction of position, the clock looks like this in its classic form:
The crucial step, which didn’t come to my mind quickly enough for my taste, is to pay attention to the exact position of the hands. The puzzle then largely solves itself.
Did you come up with the solution on your own and if so, how quickly did you succeed? Do you generally enjoy such puzzles and if so, do you know others of this type that you particularly liked? Please let me know in the comments!
