Burning Joss Sticks

[hugme]

This one is slightly more difficult than the last... took me a bit more time to figure out.

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You have 4 joss sticks.

They burn unevenly. Non-linearly... all differently...

Each one burns for 1 hour. All the sticks burn at different rates, but for a total of one hour each.

You need to measure precisely 1 hour 45 minutes using these sticks.

You have no watch, sundial, or any other timepiece.

You just have four sticks and matches.

No electrician or extension cord... or cell phone...
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but I'm sure you can do it :-D

oh yeah... again... NO CHEATING!!

****note, a joss stick is a stick of incense

Comments

[vortex.livejournal.com]

You take two of the sticks and burn them completely, then you take the remaining two and break off 1/4 of each and burn them...

[hugs.livejournal.com]

nope! sorry that won't work, the sticks burn unevenly... so they 1/4 of the stick could burn for 30 minutes and the other 3/4 could burn for 30 minutes... you don't know what part of the stick burns at what rate but they all burn completly for exactly 1 hour

[random-42.livejournal.com]

Okay, truth, I had to look up 'joss stick'. Still didn't help so I googled the problem - once I saw the answer it made sense but I'd have never figured it out as I was making an incorrect assumption about joss sticks.

[hugs.livejournal.com]

just incense.... This is a harder one than yesterday... it took me a good 15-20 minutes to figure out as well... yesterdays I got within just a couple of minutes...

there will be another tomorrow.. don't fret :-)

[random-42.livejournal.com]

If you had said 'fuse' I would have had it.

[hugs.livejournal.com]

yes, but when I hear 'fuse' I think electrical device... not something you would burn.

[dwivian]

I have my idea, but am stymied by a problem of incense sticks, in that WHERE you light it matters -- only when burned from the top down does it burn evenly, you see.

But, skipping that....

Stick 1 -- burn on both ends at the same time. It's now a 30 minute stick provided you can burn it horizontally and it stays a 1 hr stick regardless of orientation.

Stick 2 -- light when stick 1 starts. When stick 1 finishes, 30 minutes remain. Extinguish.

Stick 3 -- light when stick 1 starts. When stick 1 finishes, 30 minutes remain. Extinguish.

When stick 1 finishes, light Stick 2. When stick 2 finishes at 1hr 30, light BOTH ends of Stick 3, which will burn for 15 minutes, getting you to 1hr 45.

Dunno what the fourth stick is for. Aroma, maybe.

[fings.livejournal.com]

I can do 1 hour 30 minutes easy (light 1, and then after that's burned out, light the second on both ends). The last 15 minutes is giving me trouble.

[melonaise.livejournal.com]

Don't think you want to half-burn both Stick 2 and 3. Maybe just Stick 2.

[hugs.livejournal.com]

you have to do everything the hard way don't you?

light stick 1 at both ends and one end of stick 2 at the same time.

when stick 1 goes out (30 minutes) light the other end of stick 2

when that goes out light stick 3

you don't need the forth stick

[dwivian]

I needed one at 30 (normal burn) and one at 15 (double burn).

[dwivian]

Hey, you're the one not letting me have a stopwatch.... who's doing things the hard way now? :)

[nikki-6.livejournal.com]

All I am managing to do is burn myself:(

[dwivian]

And, again, my knowledge of this kind of incense is that burning at both ends significantly shortens its life, unless it is burned horizontally. However, horizontal burning has a different burn time than vertical. Since there was no distinction about the orientation, we have a problem...

::grin::

[melonaise.livejournal.com]

Just seemed like it was adding up to 1 hour 15.

Stick 1: half hour
Stick 2: half hour
Stick 3: quarter hour.

[dwivian]

Damn.... you're right. So, we needed the 4th stick in my weird special case, just to get the first full hour.

Good catch!