One has been unemployed for years. The other one at least walks, although he arrives a little later every hour. Before judging which misses the most, it's worth asking yourself how many times each hits the mark.
The two broken clocks
Riddle statement
You have two clocks:
- clock A is completely stopped;
- clock B works, but it goes back exactly 1 minute each hour.
Which of the two shows the correct time more times?
Show solution
Solution
Answer: The stopped clock.
Explanation:
A stopped clock tells the correct time twice a day.
On the other hand, a clock that loses one minute per hour only returns to the real time when it has accumulated 12 hours of delay. Since it loses 1 minute per hour, that happens every 720 hours, that is, every 30 days.
So, although it may seem worse, the stopped clock is right much more often.