Riddle: 2 Brothers and a phone call...

OK thinkers…

Two brothers are on the phone. One lives in an East coast state and the other in a West coast state. One looks at his clock and mentions what time it is and says he’s got to go. The other brother responds, “Thats funny, its the same time here?”

How is this possible?

As the question is worded, I can think of two ways this is possible, both of which I’m sure aren’t the answer you’re looking for. These are valid answers none the less.

  1. Brother number two is lying or mistaken.

  2. Brother number one looks at the clock and says, “It’s time for Monday Night Football.” Since MNF is live it is also time for MNF on the west coast.

There is an exact answer that includes no trick or word play. Both brothers were stating the correct time in the form of #:##

Both brothers are in thier state while on the phone…

So what do Hawaii and alaska qualify as? Are they western and eastern states? Do these count? I don’t really know.

close…
…not in THEIR own state but in the same time zone, when they talked to each other. Who cares where they are from. Where are they when they talked. (the same time zone)

How about they live in Florida? One is on the east coast, and one on the west… but still in the same time zone!

Solution #1: Both brothers were looking at their VCRs for the time. Needless to say, both thought it was 12:00 exactly.

Solution #2: Brother #1 was in the part of Florida that’s in the Central Time Zone, Brother #2 was in the part of Oregon that’s in the Mountain Time Zone. It had just turned 2:00 AM CDT on the day the clocks get set back, so Brother #1 set his clock back to 1:00 AM (CST), which is the same showing that Brother #2 had (1:00 AM MDT).

As a note- riddles where the initial poster knows the answer belong in MPSIMS.

Nice work, John, you forgot:

Solution #3: One brother lived in a state on the east coast of the US and the other brother lived in a state on the west coast of Australia. It was the week before daylight time went into play, so there was a 12 hour time difference, and the one brother said “It’s 8:00 here” and the other brother said, “Funny, it’s 8:00 here, too… although PM, not AM.”

oops… just re-read OP… nevermind!

The second brother actually asked a question. So the first brother responds, “No, stupid.”

AWB nailed this in this thread:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=43752

Brother Number One is incarcerated in a Lunatic Asylum in Fort Bragg, California.

Brother Number Two is committed to a Prison for the Criminally Insane in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

Both are HOPELESSLY MAD, and had to be heavily sedated by their keepers in order to pry the telephone receivers from their hands.

Nonetheless, that night both brothers arose from their cots and, with nearly superhuman strength, SAWED OFF THE HEADS of their respective Wardens. The whole “same time” thing was a CODED MESSAGE between them, you see?

– Uke, the Gothic Answer Man

It doesn’t say they are on the phone to each other so their sentences aren’t even in the same conversation so they could both be telling the truth.

Thanx for the credit.

My question re the OP: where does one brother have to go at 1 am?

To bed! It’s fricking late, and he’s got church in the morning!

Um…cell phone? Okay…maybe that has nothing to do with it. Please…the answer!! :slight_smile:

This is correct Zoggie…

(Sorry for this being in the wrong place, im still new 'round here. Ill catch on…)

I must admit: it’s a good riddle.