A new brain teaser has been leaving people baffled as they try to measure time using nothing but two pieces of rope – but some say the puzzle is easier than it looks
You’ll need to think outside of the box if you want to solve this puzzle.
We all know that brain teasers and puzzles are fantastic at boosting cognitive function, as they force you to use your mind to solve complex maths equations or test your perception skills by trying to find hidden items in busy pictures. But did you know that riddles also make for a good brain boost?
Riddles often push you to think in different ways to find a solution, so if you’re up for a challenge today, why not give this one a go? All you have to do is use two ropes to tell the time. Simple, right?
The riddle was shared on Reddit, where it was listed as an “unexpected interview question”. It read: “Two ropes that each take an hour to burn nonuniformly. How do you measure 30 minutes of time?”
You might think this puzzle is easy, as surely you just burn one piece of rope until it’s half its original size, right? However, the addition of the word “nonuniformly” means this won’t work. Part of the rope might burn very quickly while another section might burn slowly, meaning you’ll never be sure how much time has passed until the full length has burned away.
Commenters on the post were left baffled by the riddle, with many saying they had no idea how they would work it out. One person said: “This really confuses me,” while another added: “This is some serious magic.”
But there is a way to solve the riddle, as one commenter pointed out that you actually only need one piece of rope. We’re going to tell you the answer just below this, so if you want more time to think, don’t scroll any further!
Solution
According to one Reddit poster, the easiest way to solve the riddle is to simply burn both ends of one piece of rope. With both ends lit at the same time, the rope will burn twice as fast – meaning it’ll only take half an hour. The poster wrote: “Light both ends of one of them at the same time. When it burns through, it’s been 30 minutes. Take the second rope, and throw it away.”
The poster even said there’s a harder version of the riddle that asks you to work out how to measure 45 minutes and gave the solution for that too. They added: “The harder version is measuring 45 minutes. For that, light both ends of the first and one end of the second. After the first rope burns (30min) light the second end of the second rope, which will burn for another 15min.”
However, others pointed out that the question doesn’t actually say you have to use the ropes to tell the time. Someone said: “I set a timer on my phone because nothing here says I don’t have my phone like usual, and burning ropes is a dumb way to tell time,” as another added: “I’d measure 30 minutes with a watch. The question doesn’t say ‘How do you measure 30 minutes using the rope?’ Point being, use the technology you have to most efficiently find a solution.”
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