Brain Teasers
Horology Howard
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
Howard is almost obsessed with timing things. Unfortunately, he recently broke his most precious watch, so he buys a new timepiece. Walking from the jewelry store, he hears the gong of the clock in the Public Square which gongs at the hour and half hour. Just when he finishes walking up to his apartment someone asks him for the time. Howard immediately responds ''It's 2:35!'' Now, at the time he gives the time, Howard is not wearing a watch. The new watch is still in the box, which is sealed, and not transparent. Nor is it an audio-watch that tells time. He doesn't hear someone else say what time it is either. Howard also has a quirk about time. He never asks anyone for the time, never looks at a clock, a watch, or anything that tells time that isn't his and on his wrist. He also never counts past the number 12, but still remains efficient at whatever he does. Therefore, how did Howard know it was, precisely, 2:35. (Oh, and he was correct).
Hint
"He never counted past 12, and he won't start now"Answer
Howard went to the jewelry store right after his watch hit the floor. The time stopped on his watch at 2:00. Coming from the jewelry store, Howard hears the gong signaling 2:30 from the clock in the Public Square. (He knows an hour hasn't passed yet since his old watch bit the dust). As soon as he hears the gong, he begins to listen to the timepiece in the box, counting the ticks. He counts the ticks 12 at a time, each one being one second long. For every 12 ticks, he puts a mark on the watch box. For every 5 marks, he knows he has counted a minute. It just so happens that when he is asked the time, he just finished noting the 5th minute, and therefore can say correctly that it was 2:35.Hint Explained:
"He never counted past 12, and he won't start now" should have reinforced the number 12 in your mind, reminding you that 12 is a multiple of 60 by 5. Therefore, Howard would be able to just count 5 sets of marks, each mark representing 12 seconds, without having to count past 12.
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Comments
There wasn't a hint!!
Duly noted: So as you can see, our Editors are the best in the World!
Because I SURELY included it!
that's good how you emphasized that you couldn't see the watch and usually when you think of watches you think of sight but he heard the watch which I thought was good
Attention to detail.....I love it. (Talking about yours, not me,). What is slow?
It seems as though Harold has too much time on his hands. (Pardon the pun!)
how does he know it is 2:35 when he dosent know 35 is a number becuase he dosent count past 12?
very interesting, but quite hard.
A simpler answer to this question is that since he is obsessed with timing things he would know that it takes him exactly five minutes to walk from the jewellery store, upon leaving which he heard the clock strike, to his apartment at which he was asked the time.
How could you ever guess that correctly?! There is no reason to sespect that answer! People are so Bored!....
Yeah; I was thinkingthe same thing as Phil.
i'm with phil - he heard the clock gong 2:30 and knows how long it takes to get from his house to the jewellry store (and vice versa)
if he doesnt count on anything but his own wrist watch to tell time why would he count on the gong as a sign that half an hour has passed? even though his quirk is specified as never asking someone and not LOOKING at other watches or time pieces it suggests that he only measures time according to his own watch including the town square clock tower.
hmm... i have no clue wat the rest of yall r talkin bout but tht was hard.. at least u cud have said he had a pen with him to mark the box..
i gave up reading the explaination after like the first 2 lines..i didnt get it but was interesting
i gave up reading the explaination after like the first 2 lines..i didnt get it but was interesting
OMG HOLY COW I ACTUALLY GOT THIS ONE RIGHT!!!!! OH YEAH I FEEL SO HAPPY NOW!!!!!!! HEHEHE NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A TEASER!
Does anyone else notice that the teaser says "12 is a multiple of 60 by 5" ?
It is actually that 12 is a FACTOR of 60, and 60 is a multiple of 12.
It is actually that 12 is a FACTOR of 60, and 60 is a multiple of 12.
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