To not be able to agree on this 'simple' question

[pooopypants]

Please help me answer, to DH, what has been an ongoing discussion for at least 4 weeks:

A shop closes at 12pm (midday) and reopens at 2pm the same day. 12pm on the dot, 2pm on the dot. How long is the shop closed for, in hours?

There's no riddle behind it, nothing to bend time, stop clocks etc etc

It's also not a trick question, we just can't agree and I can't find another way to explain this

He's having a little laugh at your expense OP. Say you'll agree to disagree and that's that. You won't get any further with this one.

Are you sure that you have been arguing for only 4 weeks? because I suspect your DH would insist it's actually 5 weeks.

XH used to do similar, but with months.
So to him, January to March would be 3 months, instead of 2

That's not quite the same though, it's open to interpretation. January 15 to March 15 is 2 months but if someone says "January to March" without a specific date that could mean 1 January to 31 March and is often used that way eg when discussing accounting/reporting quarters.

@pooopypants I agree with other PPs, your DP is getting confused by counting 12, 1 and 2 as 3 numbers rather than the time between them or thinking about adding/subtracting.

It's like when you have ten metres of fencing that is made from 10 1 metre fence panels but you need 11 fence posts to hold them up. He is counting the fence posts when he should be counting the panels.

I thought this must be about whether 12pm was midday or midnight. So I looked it up and was surprised to find there is no agreement on that.

Loads of answers at www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1752,00.html
and a definitive one at the National Physics Laboratory:
www.npl.co.uk/resources/q-a/is-midnight-12am-or-12pm

I'll stick to saying 12 noon and 12 midnight.

Get him to write out the minutes from closing to opening.

12:01
12:02
12:03

Then add up at the end.

get him to make a fist
the fist represents 12 o'clock when it closes
then get him to raise one finger for each hour until it opens

Have you showed him this thread @pooopypants?

My 4 year old says it’s 2 hours. He’s been doing numbers on an iPad app and is yet to start school.

I am very sorry OP.

Maths is a bit of a struggle sometimes.

a bit?

He has to be winding you up! I'd love to hear how he tried to explain it!

This is too funny.

He obviously realised his mistake 4 weeks ago but can’t back down

My most Mumsnetty response is:

He's either deliberately trying to cause you to despise him, because he's having an affair and wants you to end the relationship.

Or, he's demonstrating, in the most absurd yet deliberate way possible, how little regard for you he has, just because he can.

Either way, LTB.

Please show him this thread and come back and tell us what he said , we need the laugh .

Does he have some numerical learning difficulties?

Are you sure that you have been arguing for only 4 weeks? because I suspect your DH would insist it's actually 5 weeks.

Hahahaha. I laughed out loud at this!

How have you not sent him to stand outside with a stopwatch whilst it's closed? At worst you'd get two hours to yourself.

Or maybe even three

this is my favourite lock down thread ever!

Is this an 'adding on' problem.

If I have 5 sweets and get 5 more how many have I got?

If he's using fingers to work it out, does he count the first finger as 5? So he'd get either 9 or 11?

I've seen lots of children do this, might be something he's carried on doing?

OP I think you need a bottle of wine .. or 2 !

So, at 1 minute past 12 he thinks the shop has already been closed for 60 mins (1 hour)???

He's bonkers.

This is a very common mathematical misconception. Many children misunderstand this and it sounds like your husband has carried it through to adulthood.

It is counting on - you don't count the number you start on when you are finding the difference between two numbers.

If you think about the clock face posted up thread, there would be two full revolutions of the minute hand between 12-2pm therefore 2 hours.

*How have you not sent him to stand outside with a stopwatch whilst it's closed? At worst you'd get two hours to yourself.

Or maybe even three*

Lol

If he thinks 12 - 2 is 3 hours, ask him if he thinks 12 - 1 is two hours.
Then ask him what time his lunch break starts and finishes.
If he has lunch from 12 - 1 then he either has a two hour lunch break and needs to start having a one hour lunch break from 12 - 12 like the rest of us.

Lockdown must be really getting to him

Wow! I’m shocked to hear this of a fully grown man that is presumably managing to function in life, you know like feeding and dressing himself etc...the mind boggles