Who's watching?

[Toumeng]

I set both wife's watch and my watch at midnight. Later, I discovered that one of the watches went 2 minutes per hour too slow, and the other went 1 minute per hour too fast. When I looked at them later the same day, the faster one was exactly 1 hour ahead of the other.

What was the correct time when I looked at the watches?

[S.A.M.]

x = y/3
x = 60/3
x = 20

20 hours later = Time to bridenap wife number 3!

[Unlimited]

It's illegal to have 2 wives 

[YAX]

only n the US.

[NytWolf]

I set both wife's watch and my watch at midnight.

Why the hell you need to synchronize watches ... at midnight?  You planning on a heist?

[ToxicCum]

your wifes two watches are off....

but you set urs also....so urs went off at midnight...so the answer is 12am, that is the correct time...kuz ur watch didnt have a timing defect.

theres 3 watches involved

[Toumeng]

Haha.. okay sorry for the typo. It should be "I set my wife's watch and my watch.... " Not both or more than one wives.

[Reporter]

I'm not sure of what the mathematical formula is, but it sounds like for each minute or two that one watch falls behind, the other takes one more minute ahead. Finding their differences totally 60 minutes apart from the midnight time when the watches were set will get us the correct time when the setter relooked at them later that same day.

[Archipalego]

I'm not sure of what the mathematical formula is, but it sounds like for each minute or two that one watch falls behind, the other takes one more minute ahead. Finding their differences totally 60 minutes apart from the midnight time when the watches were set will get us the correct time when the setter relooked at them later that same day.

I was thinking of the same too.   It would be 1 hour apart 60 hrs from now.  It would be back to "midnight" same time; two and a half days later.

[Toumeng]

I was thinking of the same too.   It would be 1 hour apart 60 hrs from now.  It would be back to "midnight" same time; two and a half days later.

Not quite. lol

Reporter has the right idea on solving this problem. It's a mathematical problem. 

[trepidpoda]

I set both wife's watch and my watch at midnight. Later, I discovered that one of the watches went 2 minutes per hour too slow, and the other went 1 minute per hour too fast. When I looked at them later the same day, the faster one was exactly 1 hour ahead of the other.

What was the correct time when I looked at the watches?

This sounds like an algebra equation:
(x-2 min) + (x+1 min) = 60 minutes
2x-1 =60
2x =61
x=61/2
x= 30.5

Every 30.5 minutes (lets round it off), there is one minute difference
It will take 20 hrs for the 60 minutes difference (1 hr); the time will be 8:00 pm when you checked.

Just corrected; I missed added the 20 hrs after midnight.....i t is 8:00 pm.

[Reporter]

Good. Sounds like the formula  now.

This sounds like an algebra equation:
(x-2 min) + (x+1 min) = 60 minutes
2x-1 =60
2x =61
x=61/2
x= 30.5

Every 30.5 minutes (lets round it off), there is one minute difference
It will take 20 hrs for the 60 minutes difference (1 hr); the time will be 6:00 pm when you checked.

[YAX]

wild guess.. midnight.

[S.A.M.]

any sensible person would of seen that I already gave the formula and answer.

start with x = y / z

x = (in hours) the time past midnight.
y = (in mins) the amount of time the watches are apart.
z = (3) the constant. if every hour one watch is 1 min fast and the other 2 mins slow, that makes a 3 min difference every hour.

so the formula is: x = y / 3

your question gave us y (1 hour part). 1 hour = 60 mins

x(hours past midnight) = 60 / 3
x(hours past midnight) = 20

20 hours past midnight would be 8:00 PM

[trepidpoda]

Lets see what Toumeng say? The way how he described it looked algebraic.