I meant to release this puzzle 15¼ hours ago, and forgot again just over 9⅓ hours ago.

But don't worry, it's fine. The puzzle is finally out.

What is this puzzle about?

NB: What timezone I am in or anyone else is in isn't relevant


The puzzle is finally out, though the posting time is less opportune than the previous two times.

  • $\begingroup$ Based on the times and associated timezones (of the person asking this question), it seems it has something to do with day ( as 15.25 + 9.33 sum up to little over 24 hours)...and so yesterday. Possibly this is about ...a puzzle that was late by a day... $\endgroup$ – Mea Culpa Nay Nov 6 '17 at 2:51
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @boboquack, since it seems like timezones might possibly relevant here, would you care to tell us which you're in? (I think you're somewhere in Australia, but Australia is large and that still leaves multiple possibilities.) $\endgroup$ – Gareth McCaughan Nov 6 '17 at 11:23
  • $\begingroup$ @MeaCulpaNay I would suppose 15.25 + 9.33 to be a little under 24 hours... $\endgroup$ – Evargalo Nov 6 '17 at 13:52
  • $\begingroup$ @Evargalo You sure? $\endgroup$ – Tom K. Nov 6 '17 at 14:44
  • $\begingroup$ Nope. I must have been jet-laged. $\endgroup$ – Evargalo Nov 6 '17 at 14:46

Basically the same as Bass' answer:

Time and date pieces form (not ordered) arithmetic sequences. The first two opportunities increment by 3, the numbers increment by 6 at time of posting.

Date: $05/11/17$ or $11/05/17$
\begin{align}23:29\text{ }-\text{ }&15:15&&=8:14&&05-08-11-14-17\\23:29\text{ }-\text{ }&9:20\text{ }(+1)&&=14:08&&05-08-11-14-17\\&\text{POSTED}&&=23:29&&05-11-17-23-29\end{align}

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    $\begingroup$ Be careful with your terminology - none of these are multiples of 3 or 6. But they do form what is known as an $\color{white}{\text{arithmetic sequence}}$ [highlight to see spoiler], which is what the answer to this question is. Maybe you could edit this into your answer, and then I will accept it. $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 21:59
  • $\begingroup$ Psst.....the ticked answer did not mention clearly, what the original puzzle (OP) is about. $\endgroup$ – Mea Culpa Nay Nov 7 '17 at 3:41
  • $\begingroup$ Great! And I was thinking, this has something to do with the Gunpowder plot of 1605. $\endgroup$ – ABcDexter Nov 7 '17 at 6:51

I'm gonna go with..

you wanted increments of three.

That would be because

The date was 2017-11-05, and if you split the centuries from the year and reorder, you get 5-11-17-20, which is kind of missing an 8 and a 14, to complete the series of 5-8-11-14-17-20.
The times indicated by the clues are 14:08 (9:21 before posting) and 8:14 (15:15 before posting).

  • $\begingroup$ Very close! 'But don't worry, it's fine'... $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 10:05
  • $\begingroup$ Including the posting time, it lacks just 26 $\endgroup$ – Suppen Nov 6 '17 at 10:08
  • $\begingroup$ Well, the original release time does continue the series, but only if you include the seconds, and allow for the puzzle being late by 4 seconds, as suggested by the title. $\endgroup$ – Bass Nov 6 '17 at 10:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Bass I'm not a robot, so I can't click on a button to within a second reliably :P. Seconds don't count, and neither do something else... maybe this will help you find the property I was looking for. $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 10:24
  • $\begingroup$ No, sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to throw in the towel. I can come up with several other combinations involving (most of) the numbers, but all of them are less interesting than my original idea. $\endgroup$ – Bass Nov 6 '17 at 10:49

All credits to ronCYA, sadly I can't comment yet.

Proverbs 14:29 is "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly" 8:14 is: Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.


just be patient, we understand.

  • $\begingroup$ It might be worth reading my comments on ronCYA's post... $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 9:21
  • $\begingroup$ I made an error in my original answer... Sorry for misleading you! $\endgroup$ – ronCYA Nov 6 '17 at 10:42

Partial answer.

You've posted at exactly 30 seconds past the minute on the dot, which means that:

A) You waited until the middle of the minute to ensure no clock/internet/server lag would mess up the exact time you wanted the post time to appear as. So, the post time is deliberate.

B) The seconds is not part of the puzzle, because of the above, plus the fact that you'd have to wait 24 hours every time you messed it up. Also, you don't mention seconds in the body text.

I think the puzzle is about: To forgive and forget

Because you say "But don't worry, it's fine." and the puzzle involves forgetting. The time of posting is 2017-11-05 23:29:30, so minus "15¼ hours" and "just over 9⅓ hours" gives us 8:14 and 14:09, with a give-or-take on the 14:09. This is where I'm stuck because I can't get from those times to "forgive". I've used calculator fonts to see if it's calculator spelling, but still nothing. I thought "4" and "+" could create "forgive" but I'm still missing too many pieces.

"9⅓" (9 1 / 3 ) in calculator font sort of makes gIv3...

  • $\begingroup$ Just to make sure - is the character between the following two quotation marks showing up on your machine: '⅓'? If not, it is this character. $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 8:22
  • $\begingroup$ Yep. Shows up fine :) Tested in Chrome and Edge on Windows 10. $\endgroup$ – ronCYA Nov 6 '17 at 8:24
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    $\begingroup$ Hmm... I think that you're kind of missing the point of my previous comment... check some of your answer carefully $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 8:51
  • $\begingroup$ Could it possibly have something to do with the position of the clock hands? They are quite similar in all three times. $\endgroup$ – Suppen Nov 6 '17 at 10:01
  • $\begingroup$ @boboquack Ahhh... whoops slaps forehead Thank you! Fixed. $\endgroup$ – ronCYA Nov 6 '17 at 10:42

15¼ hours before the question was posted was very close to 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time (North America) on November 5. November 5 at 2:00 a.m. is when a large portion of North America switches from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time.

Clocks are turned back an hour, and the hour from 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. actually happens twice. You have 1:59 a.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Time), and the next minute the clock changes to 1:00 a.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time).

I'm not sure what the 9⅓ hours is referring to, but maybe that is when the East coast of North America is experiencing the change?

  • $\begingroup$ This seems inconsistent with whta ronCYA says about the time of posting. Do we have a way of getting the exact posting time? $\endgroup$ – Gareth McCaughan Nov 6 '17 at 17:45
  • $\begingroup$ Aha, found one. 2017-11-05 23:29:30Z which matches ronCYA's figures. $\endgroup$ – Gareth McCaughan Nov 6 '17 at 17:51
  • $\begingroup$ Unfortunately, I didn't even know that, apart from a passing comment by Rubio. I have edited the question to clarify about timezones. $\endgroup$ – boboquack Nov 6 '17 at 21:06

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