A children's maths question has left thousands of adults scratching their heads after going viral online.
For many, maths class is a distant memory, with some grown-ups still having nightmares about the complicated questions they've faced in exams gone by. However, the latest one people are struggling to answer is actually aimed at kids, so it should be simple enough.
Racking up 1.4 million Twitter views and thousands of confused comments, the question was posted by a man from Jamacia who said it left him with a headache. The tweet has also garnered thousands of comments, with so many guessing conflicting answers.
Shared by @yawdmontweet, the problem asks: "What is the closest time to midnight?'
A. 11:55am
B. 12:06am
C. 11:50am
D. 12:03 am."
For some, the answer may seem straightforward, but the majority were torn between two options. Some were certain that A - 11.55am is the correct answer with one answer explaining: "Would have to be A, time cannot go in reverse so the fact that B&D are after midnight they couldn’t be the answer."
"A is the answer because it's 5 mins away from midnight. 12:03am is 23 hours and 57 mins away from midnight," wrote another.
While a third penned: "Y’all getting me f*****g mad now. If u call an airline and ask for the closest flight to midnight possible and they put u 11:55am instead of a few mins pass midnight you would be frigging furious. Math is supposed to be practical."
However, others were adamant that the right answer is D - 12.03am, with one commenter writing: "The answer is D. If midnight is 12:00am then 12:03am is the closest time to midnight."
While another wrote: "Clearly a lot of children have been left behind. The answer is D!!! “To” just means closest to the time itself, not insinuating that it’s necessarily before midnight."
So, what is the right answer? Well it's good news for anyone who answered D as it is in fact the solution to the question. 12.03am is just three minutes past midnight, while 11.55am is 12 hours and five minutes before midnight.
Meanwhile, 12.06am is six minutes past and 11.50am is 12 hours and 10 minutes earlier than midnight.
Many takers put the confusion down to the wording of the question, specifically the word "to" as it was interpreted differently,.
One person wrote: "I can understand the argument of some to say 11:55 am could be the answer due to the fact that the operative word which is “to” is used but the obvious answer is 12:03 am. Very simple but tricky due to the wording."
While a second explained further: "Besides D being the answer, if we’re being technical and using to (as in before, so closest time before midnight (12:00am) the it would be A) 11:55am. If it’s generally, what’s the closest time next to midnight then it would be 12:03am."
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