Time Measurement

Your job is to measure 45 minutes if you have only two cords and matches to light the cords.

1. The two cords are twisted from various materials, so their different segments can burn at different rates.
2. Each cord burns from end to end in exactly one hour.

Describe your way of measuring the 45 minutes.




Similar Riddles

There are two beautiful yet remote islands in the South Pacific. The Islanders born on one island always tell the truth, and the Islanders from the other island always lie.
You are on one of the islands and meet three Islanders. You ask the first which island they are from in the most appropriate Polynesian tongue, and he indicates that the other two Islanders are from the same island. You ask the second Islander the same question, and he also indicates that the other two Islanders are from the same island.
Can you guess what the third Islander will answer to the same question?

Asked by Neha on 03 Jan 2026


Count the number of triangles in the below picture?

Triangles Count

Asked by Neha on 12 Oct 2023

A few friends are enjoying their sea voyage in a boat full of apples. On the way, they felt hungry and thus decided to eat the apples. Together, they ate two dozen of apples. When they have eaten the apples, will there be any change in the water level?

Asked by Neha on 06 May 2021


How much will a 38° angle measure when looked at under a microscope that magnifies ten times?

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021

There are hundred red gems and hundred blue gems. The blue gems are priceless while the red gems equal wastage. You have two sacks one labeled Heads and the other Tails. You have to distribute the gems as you want in the two sacks. Then a coin will be flipped and you will be asked to pick up a gem randomly from the corresponding sacks.

How will you distribute the gems between the sacks so that the odds of picking a Blue gem are maximum?

Asked by Neha on 29 May 2023

Consider this: Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one. Michael J. Fox has a small one. Prince doesn’t have one. The Pope has one but never uses it. Bill Clinton has one and uses it all the time. What is it?

Asked by Neha on 29 Jun 2025


Two boys were admitted to a school. When the headmaster asks them about their parents, they tell him that they have same parents (father and mother). On further inquiry, it turns out that they both share the same date for their birthday.

"Are you twins," ask the headmaster.
"No," replies the boys.

Is it possible?

Asked by Neha on 22 Feb 2024

You have $100 with you and you have to buy 100 balls with it. 100 is the exact figure and you can't go below or above the numbers and you have to use the entire $100. If there is no kind of tax applied how many of each of the following balls will you be able to buy:

Green Balls costing $6
Yellow Balls costing $3
Black Balls costing $0.10

Now, how many of each must you buy to fulfil the condition given?

Asked by Neha on 30 Jul 2023

A boy and his father are caught in a traffic accident, and the father dies. Immediately the boy is rushed to a hospital, suffering from injuries. But the attending surgeon at the hospital, upon seeing the boy, says 'I cannot operate. This boy is my son.' How is this situation explained?

Asked by Neha on 20 Dec 2024


A king sentenced a man to the death sentence for some crime he had committed. Known for his kindness, the king told the culprit that he had a choice to die in a way he decides.

The culprit was clever and said something that saved him from death. What method do you think he must have chosen for his death?

Asked by Neha on 17 Oct 2025

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The inventor of the Rubik’s Cube didn’t realize he’d built a puzzle until he scrambled it the first time and tried to restore it.