I have a clock at home that chimes on every hour and half hour mark. On whole hour marks it chimes once for each hour, and on half hour marks it chimes only once.

One night I was wakened suddenly and realized the the clock had chimed, but I did not know how many times. As I lay awake thinking about nothing in particular I heard the clock chime once and started wondering what time it was.

What is the longest amount of time I would have to lie awake before I knew for sure what time it was?

I think in theory that if it struck at 12:30 then it would only chime once, if it then struck at 1 you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, therefore I think that you would have to wait an hour to know the exact time.

Posted by Kathy on 2005-08-09 11:16:09