The keypad on my friend's microwave is broken: only one of the number keys (the N key) works. He found a workaround that allows him to cook for exactly 2 minutes, which is perfect for rewarming his giant cup of coffee. He does this by entering NN seconds, then start. He cooks for a period of time and then hits the pause button followed by N and start. (On his microwave, entering 99 would be the same as entering 139, since the 3rd number from the right is minutes)

For example, if N were "1", he could enter 11, cook until the display reads 6, pause, enter 1 (the display then reads 61), and cook for a total of 66 seconds. He also brags that using the same N key as above, but by pausing at a different time, he can cook for another whole number of minutes (other than 2).

Which number key is working on his microwave?

(In reply to And the winning number is... by Bob Smith)

And if you hit 77, let it run down to 24 for 53 seconds, hit 7 again to have the display show 247. This gives a total of 300 seconds.

Or would this be 2:47 plus 53 seconds - Total 3:40

And if you hit 77, let it run down to 44 for 33 seconds, hit 7 again to have the display show 447. This gives a total of 480 seconds.

Or would this be 4:47 plus 33 seconds - Total 5:20

And if you hit 77, let it run down to 64 for 13 seconds, hit 7 again to have the display show 647. This gives a total of 660 seconds.

So this would be 6:47 plus 13 seconds - Total 7 minutes

Edited on November 8, 2005, 10:37 am

Posted by Leming on 2005-11-08 10:07:22