This is a relatively simple puzzle, more geared for children than for adults. My friend Alok Mittal recently asked this question in his Mathematical Circles class and also reminded me that he was asked this puzzle (probably 30 years back!) by my father, who was very fond of puzzles.

It’s 3 pm on Saturday afternoon. By 3 pm on Sunday i.e. in exactly 24 hours, how many times would the minute and the hour hand overlap?

As always, please send your answers directly to me at alokgoyal_2001@yahoo.com. If you like the puzzle, please share it with others. If you have interesting puzzles to share, please send them to me at my e-mail given above.

Happy counting!