easy

Illustration for riddle: At noon and at midnight, the long and short hands of a clock are together. Between noon and midnight — Can you figure out this riddle?

At noon and at midnight, the long and short hands of a clock are together. Between noon and midnight, how many times does the long hand pass the short hand?

11. Not 12, the last time it meets the hand at midnight. The moment it passes midnight has already passed.

Why this works

This riddle plays with our understanding of time and the movements of a clock's hands. While it seems like the long hand (minute hand) should pass the short hand (hour hand) 12 times between noon and midnight, in reality, the hands are together at both noon and midnight, which means the last meeting at midnight doesn't count as a passing. Thus, the minute hand effectively passes the hour hand 11 times between those two times, making the answer 11 instead of 12!

Common Wrong Answers

“12”

People might think the long hand passes the short hand once every hour, leading to the assumption that it would occur 12 times between noon and midnight. However, the last passing at midnight is not counted.

“10”

This guess might stem from confusion about the frequency of the hands meeting. While there are 11 complete passes, some may incorrectly calculate them based on the positions of the clock hands.

“11.5”

This guess suggests a misunderstanding of how the hands interact. The hands can only pass each other a whole number of times; they do not pass in fractions.

More easy riddles →Browse all riddles →