A simple math question meant for kids has become super popular online. It’s all over Reddit, and tons of people are talking about it. Thousands of folks are joining in the debate, trying to figure out the right answer. It’s got everyone scratching their heads!
Online games and brain teasers are getting really popular these days. They bring people together and make them think. This new puzzle is especially tough, and it’s getting everyone interested in solving tricky questions, no matter how old they are.
There was a big puzzle that got people talking all over the world. In June 2023, a Reddit user named @yawdmontweet from Jamaica asked a question that confused everyone: “When is the closest time to midnight?” The question seemed easy, but the options made it tricky: A. 11:55 a.m., B. 12:06 a.m., C. 11:50 a.m., and D. 12:03 a.m.
As people tried to figure out the puzzle, most of them thought that option “D” was the best answer. They thought that 12:03 a.m. was the closest time to midnight because they looked at time moving either forward or backward from midnight.
But, some people had different ideas. They said the question was a bit unclear. They pointed out that there’s a difference between “closest time to” and “closest time until.” This made people see things in different ways. Some thought option “A” was the right answer because it was the closest time to the next midnight.
Some people got creative with their answers. They looked at how close the word “midnight” was in the options. This made them choose option “A” because it was closest to the word itself.
During the debate, some people asked an artificial intelligence called ChatGPT for help. It gave a clear answer, saying, “The closest time to midnight would be D. 12:03 a.m.”
People kept arguing about the question. Someone mentioned that it could be confusing for kids because there might be more than one right answer. They said that the different ways of looking at the question, like thinking about the closest time until the next midnight or just counting minutes forward or back, could make math frustrating and disliked by students.
The debate online is still going strong. So, what option do you think is right? And do you agree that this tricky question could have more than one correct answer depending on how you look at it?