A simple children’s maths question asking “What is the closest time to midnight?” has sparked widespread confusion and debate on social media. The multiple-choice options given were A) 11:55 a.m., B) 12:06 a.m., C) 11:50 a.m., and D) 12:03 a.m.
The image of the question circulated online after being posted by Twitter user yawdmontweet and subsequently tracked by outlets such as The Straits Times, which reported that the tweet “hurt his head.”
At first glance the correct answer might appear to be D, since 12:03 a.m. is three minutes past midnight and therefore closest in raw minutes to the “midnight” point. For example, one commenter wrote: “12:03 a.m. is the closest TO midnight.”
However, others pointed out that because time proceeds forwards and one must consider how far each time is from the next midnight, option A (11:55 a.m.) becomes plausible under that interpretation. The times in question convert to: A) 11 hours 5 minutes before the next midnight; B) 23 hours 54 minutes after the previous midnight; C) 11 hours 10 minutes before; D) 23 hours 57 minutes after.