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The Last Minute Before the Hour

brainteaser
You have two ropes and a supply of matches. Each rope takes exactly 60 minutes to burn from one end to the other, but neither burns at a steady rate: one section might vanish quickly while another smolders for much longer. The ropes may also differ from each other. You may light either end of either rope. Once burning, a rope cannot be extinguished, cut, marked, or measured. You have no clock, so after lighting the first match you can act only when you observe a rope finish burning. Using both ropes, what is the longest interval of less than one hour that you can measure exactly?

Hints

Hint 1
Hint 2
Hint 3

Solution

Commit an attempt to unseal the proof. Write your answer — right or wrong, thinking it through is the point.

What is the longest exact interval under one hour?

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