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TED-Ed

Can you solve the jail break riddle? - Dan Finkel

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6,436 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Your timing made you and your partner infamous bank robbers. Now, you need to use that timing to break out of jail. Your partner is about to flash you a signal, and exactly 45 seconds later the electric fence circuit will short out. Then you notice that your watch is broken, and all you have are two 1-minute fuses in your pocket. Can you time your escape and get free? Dan Finkel shows how.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

If you had 3 fuses that each burned for exactly a minute, how many different times could you time 90 seconds? 75 seconds? 2 minutes and 45 seconds? Try to create a complete list of times you can measure exactly with three fuses. When you have the list, explain why it is complete.



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Meet The Creators

Educator
Daniel Finkel
Director
Igor Coric
Narrator
Addison Anderson
Animator
Nemanja Petrovic
Illustrator
Jelena Vasiljevic
Character Designer
Jelena Vasiljevic
Producer
Milica Lapcevic
Content Producer
Gerta Xhelo
Editorial Producer
Alex Rosenthal
Associate Producer
Bethany Cutmore-Scott
Fact-Checker
Brian Gutierrez

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