# Reblog: Ummm… What time is it?

Math 4 Most put up a lovely little challenge here, to find a typo in a novelty clock face. As usual for this sort of novelty clock face the various expressions come out to the familiar old 1, 2, 3, et cetera up through 12; so, can you spot one (or more than one) that doesn’t come out right?

Every couple years someone in my family buys me one of the mathematical-puzzle calendars, where there’s a bit of arithmetic to work out for each day. (For example, something for today might ask the square root of 196, although dressed up to be more interesting.) It’s good mental practice working through it, the equivalent of doing the daily Jumble word puzzle or a Sudoku problem. I admit I’m more inclined to the Jumble since I like many of the wrong words that come up in trying to unscramble ‘Object’ and ‘Recipe’. (Those are the words causing more more trouble than any in the common Jumble vocabulary.)

Can you find the typo?!

As I troll through the web, I often wander through sites that have some pretty humorous math related content.  When I find some I’d like to share, I’ll add them to this page.  I will try to keep whatever I post to the PG level at most.  (Yes there is risqué math, who knew!?)

NOTE: I do not own nor imply ownership of any images I find on the web.  Whenever possible, I will provide info on the rightful owner.  If you discover a picture/link which I have incorrectly attributed, please let me know!

This picture has been going around Facebook for a while… but it has a typo!! Do you see it?

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## Author: Joseph Nebus

I was born 198 years to the day after Johnny Appleseed. The differences between us do not end there.

## 10 thoughts on “Reblog: Ummm… What time is it?”

1. Chiaroscuro says:

I believe I’ve found the error, unless they intended there to be a 601.4 O’clock.

(Shan’t spoil this for others, yet.) Also, I’m mildly dissapointed that they couldn’t get 1 out of three 9s, and settled for two. I can manage it, and I’ll bet Austin shall be able to as well.

–chi

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1. I do have a couple approaches for getting the 1 out of three 9’s in mind, although I’ll confess they’re all variations on the same gimmick.

Ooh, no, I just thought of another one that I like.

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1. Chiaroscuro says:

If you have one that’s better than 9/9 * (9 with the line over it), I want to hear! That’s the prettiest I can think of, as most other variants I can think of seem to shake out to, effectively, 1+1-1 or 3-1-1.

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1. The pedestrian one would be $\frac{\sqrt{9}\sqrt{9}}{9}$ or the reciprocal. The one that I thought of mid-post and quite liked was $9^{9 - 9}$.

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1. Oh, that’s another nice one.

I thought of one during lunch but managed to forget it before I could write it down, I’m embarrassed to say.

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2. Chiaroscuro says:

That’s a quite nice one indeed, Fluffy.

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1. Chiaroscuro says:

I concur that 9^(9-9) is perhaps the most pretty one, indeed. :)

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1. Ooh, thank you. I do like those. I really like $\sqrt{9}! - \frac{9}{9}$ as an expression, too.

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