# Rather simple brain teaser **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 2, 2002, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560 "2002-10-02T17:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ThreeLeggedBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThreeLeggedBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThreeLeggedBob)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/21 "2002-10-02T23:45:32Z")
And if your watch happens to be stopped, any time at all would satisfy the condition… Another simple question: How many times faster is the second hand than the hour hand? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/22 "2002-10-03T00:04:49Z")
60\*12=720. Of course, that one really was simple. -Ace ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/23 "2002-10-03T01:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Answer in the form of :H:M:S:S/60:S/3600:…: > 2. How many femtoseconds? Pico seconds? > 3. Can you give a formula to quickly find out the above? 1. 1:05:27:16:21:49:05:27:16:21:49… Essentially, there’s a repeating sequence (as long as each term represents units 1/60 the duration of the previous units) that goes 05:27:16:21:49. 1. Obviously, the answer is 3,927,272,727,272,727,272.72 (repeat bar) femtoseconds, or 3,927,272,727,272,727.27 (repeat bar) picoseconds. 2. Once you’ve got the answer in seconds, multiply it by 10[sup]15[/sup] to find femtoseconds, or by 10[sup]12[/sup] to find picoseconds. Duh! Any help on my physics problem above? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![jawdirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jawdirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jawdirk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/24 "2002-10-03T05:33:35Z")
jackelope, Obviously your method was the best method, but if you wanted to do it the guess and check way, you could plug in x values into the x/c=t equation and then plug in the resulting t values into the y=-c2t^2 equation until the floor of y equaled x+1. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/25 "2002-10-03T07:14:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jawdirk \* > \*\*jackelope, > > _Obviously_ your method was the best method…\*\*(italics added) New sig! New sig! Thanks, **jawdirk** , that’s another–extremely laborious–way to do it. And come to think of it, I think the “other way” was explained and it included something equally circuitous; that must have been it. And I recall having to explain my way to the class, _all of whom_ had done it the circuitous way. Very strange experience. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/26 "2002-10-03T16:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Abe Babe \* > \*\*My bolding. > > It will be noon again in 24 hours, so the answer is “Noon” \*\* So…people tell you that _you_ take things too literally, too, right? **jackelope** isn’t the only person I’ve heard complain about “friggin English majors” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560/27 "2002-10-03T18:51:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*So…people tell you that _you_ take things too literally, too, right? **jackelope** isn’t the only person I’ve heard complain about “friggin English majors” 😉 \*\* Just for the sake of historical accuracy, allow me to point out that **Ace0Spades** said, “friggin English majors”; **jackelope** (that’s me) WAS a friggin’ English major. 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rather-simple-brain-teaser/130560.md?page=1)