You are locked in a jail cell with no windows. and you need to tap out a message on the wall for the man in the other cell next to you. The problem is that you have to do it at exactly 9:15 PM, when the guard outside is switched, so your noise won't be noticed. You can't hear the switching of the guards through your walls, and you have no clock.
There is a faucet with water dripping very consistently from it in the corner, but you don't know if it is dripping at 30 or 40 or however many drops per minute, and that wouldn't give you the time in any case. You can just make out the chiming of a church bell, but it chimes just once at the top of each hour, so you can't tell the time from that. You can feel the wall facing west start to cool after the sun sets, but you don't know what time the sun is setting, and this isn't very precise in any case. Your dinner is always passed into your cell between 6:15 and 6:45. How do you determine when it is exactly 9:15 PM?
2006-11-02 07:03:30 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Jokes & Riddles
After dinner arrives, you listen for the church bell. Since dinner comes between 6:15 and 6:45, the next chiming has to be at 7:00 PM. When you hear it, you start to count the drips from the faucet until you hear the chime again at 8:00 PM. Divide the number of drips by four, and you'll have the number of drips that fall in fifteen minutes (Or you can divide by sixty to get the drops per minute, and then multiply this by fifteen). When the bell chimes again at 9:00, you start counting drips until you reach the specified number. It is now 9:15 PM, and time to tap out your message.
=)
2006-11-02 07:05:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 0⤋
after the bell rings at seven count each water drip between 7 and eight divide that sum by sixty and multiply by fifteen
for forty t will be 2400
for thirty it will be 1800
wait for an hour then when the bell strikes again count for it if its at forty a minute you wil have to count to 600
if its thirty a minute count to 450
then after you counted either drips tap the wall for the message
2006-11-02 07:23:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
look out the door at the guard - whom you can not hear but can see through the door to the cell. Or you could look at your watch - since you said clock not watch....
2006-11-02 07:08:53 · answer #3 · answered by akelaamy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ask the person who hands the dinner out to tell you when its 9:15
2006-11-02 07:19:28 · answer #4 · answered by CowboyFrancis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look at your watch. Or if that's not it I agree with Tammy but that seems too extravegent for a riddle so maybe I don't. I say look at your watch!
2006-11-02 07:12:36 · answer #5 · answered by EriksSweetheart 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
D*mn I could have answered this question 'cause I'm really good at math, but the person named tammy who already answered toatally beat me to it. Good Show.
2006-11-02 07:11:08 · answer #6 · answered by Inferno13 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By using the other methods to help you out as you stated.
2006-11-02 07:10:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you could go into the long way calculating it with the information given but i would look at my watch
2006-11-02 07:19:41 · answer #8 · answered by Mr Cynical 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How did you know the guards switched at 9.15pm if you don't have a watch?
2006-11-02 07:28:19 · answer #9 · answered by cheyenne 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Just keep your head down and do yer bird!!
Great question
2006-11-02 07:11:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋