The Least Amount of Time to Boil an Egg

Aaaaaaaargh! Another one!

Bring in Gordon Ramsay?

heheheheh

I know your trying!

This ones easy!

Try flipping those hourglasses! And count the minutes that would elapse while adding some common sense.

Or try to think of a solution by flipping those hourglasses and come up with exact 9minutes!

First run both egg timers together, when the 4 min timer runs out there is still 2 min left in the 7 min timer, straight away turn the 7 min timer over and start boiling the water, the timer will now run for 5 min as it did not complete the 7 min, 2 min still left to run. When the timer runs out, start the 4 min timer, and when that runs out the water has been boiling for 9 min, (7-2)+4 = 9.

Regards JD.

That would work really well if 7-4 =2...

but it don't.

The way to do it is this:

Set both timers going together.

When the 4 min runs out turn them both over with 3 mins left in the 7 min timer.

When the 7 min runs out flip them again with 1 min left in the 4 min timer.

When the 4 min runs out flip them again with 6 in the 7 min timer

When the 4 min runs out again start the water boiling. You have 2 mins in the 7 min timer.

When the 7 min timer finishes again flip it over and when it runs out the water will have been boiling for 9 minutes.

Therefore the least amount of time to prepare the egg is....in reverse order

7 + 2 + 4 + 1 + 3 + 4 = 20 minutes

Al

You get my vote Kwetz... Seems a logical and quicker way to the end result...

Thank you Electroman, we must find not just a solution but the optimum one, otherwise we couldn't call us "engineers".

In reality it won't work like that...

An egg is still cooking even if it's not in the water else you could just do the 7-4 thing three times to give 3+3+3, however the egg would end up like a rock.

You need 9 continuous minutes of cooking for a 9minute egg...

Dunno why I'm doing this...when I could be eating or sleeping

Del

Hey Del his solution will work its in the water cooking for 9 minutes continuously.

If he starts both glasses and flips the 4 minute one when it runs out. Starts the egg when the when the 7 minute runs out leaves 1 minute on the 4 minute glass. When it runs out flips two more times for 9 minute total.

his way gives 16 minute prep time.

when the 4 min timer runs out there is still 2 min left in the 7 min timer.

Would you like to reconsider this statement?

Del

7 minus 4 equals 3

Yes I would. I'll sleep on it, there is every possiblity it could be wrong, not by much thou.

Reagrds JD.

Is this "quaint country" a mountainous one where the restaurant sits at a high altitude?

Ah, yes. The boiling temperature of water varies with pressure, and pressure varies with height. Hmmmmmmmm......... might be Bolivia.........

I microwave my boilled eggs until they explode and then I know they're done

Ah! You need the KrisDel^TM Time machine...used in conjunction with the microwave you can have the perfect 'boiled egg' in less time than it takes to boil an egg.

Just wait for the explosion then go back 10 seconds.

Del
_{(Note ... the +/- 3 hour tolerance on the time machine may cause minor problems...but if so, just try again...You may get stuck in what we know as the 'egg loop' for a day or so...but rest assured, to the rest of the world it's only 4 minutes )}

Owww the 'perfect' solution! how much is one of these KrisDel^TM Time machines and can you give me a discount as I will (maybe) be buying huge quanties over the next year...

Hmmmmm if I just buy one then I can return before I've paid for the others.... can't I?

John

7-4=3, I learn something new every day.

Regards JD.

One must also consider the composition of the water, in addition to the elevation...Let him cook his own d*****d egg...

So at 9 minutes, an egg is pretty much hard boiled, so screw it!!! cook it for eleven minutes! He'll never know the difference!

On the other hand, if your business is so dependent on this guy's 9-minute egg, you're in the wrong business to begin with!!!

Measure the diameter of the 4-minute timer at its base, and at the top of the sand before flipping, and measure or calculate the height of the sand. Look up the formula for the volume of a conical section this size. Plug in your numbers and find the height of half the volume of sand. Mark that level on the glass.

When the 7-minute timer runs out, start the 4-minute timer. When the sand reaches the mark, remove the egg from the water.

Because an hourglass is a type of clock, hide both timers from the authorities, and if the customer asks how you know the cooking time is right, just tell him you have an instinct developed by years of experience. (The question didn't say anything about calendars being outlawed.) And don't mention to the customer that eggs actually continue to cook for a while after you remove them from heat.

Beat the rat-bastard client to death with an egg cup, then grind him up for sausage... If you're in England, grind him into spotted-dick!!!

It will take 16 minutes to boil the egg if you do this:

Start both hourglasses simultaneously. When the 4 min. glass runs out, turn it over immediately. When the 7 runs out, put the egg in the water. There will be 1 minute remaining on the 4 min glass. (2x4=8, 8-7=1) Now simply run the 4 minute glass 2 more times and remove the egg.

Ooops! I see someone beat me to it. I should check these emails earlier in the day.

However, the question is "what is the least amount of time it will take to prepare the egg?" Yes the egg cooks for 9 minutes, but running the timers is part of the prep, so 16 minutes should be the answer.

Additionally, if this customer knows that HIS perfect egg takes 9 minutes, he must have timed it. This means he is probably a member of the local cartel engaged in the illegal trafficking of clocks. Now the real question becomes; do you call the authorities or have someone else prepare his egg for fear of screwing it up and ending up swimming with cement shoes?!?

At 9min one may assume its an ostrich egg? so it must be a country where they all have there heads in the sand, so they don't need clocks. I wonder where that can be.

Regards JD.

africa somewhere?

Answer part one: The least amount of time to prepare the egg is nine minutes.

If clocks are outlawed, are cell phones? PDA's? PC's? Seems to be a lot of places where one could find a time-keeping device other than a clock.

Will metronome's and pendulums be outlawed?

As well as a bucket filled with water with a hole in the bottom, or a candle with markings down the side?

Hmmmm, methinks too many possibilities to break the law are around us!!

John

What use would those things be, if clocks were outlawed?

Hello Optimusprime

Loose or non-specific Specifications always lead to an unhappy client.

It does appear that in the so-called specification the Specification writer has omitted some important variables:

A) Water Type:

1. Sea Water - Advise from which ocean, location and depth
   
2. Brine from the Dead Sea - Advise location and depth
   
3. Fresh Water
4. Rainwater - Before a Thunderstorm
5. Rainwater - During a Thunderstorm
6. Rainwater - Just after a Thunderstorm
7. Monsoonal
   
8. Other - Specify please

B) Water boiling temperature in degrees Celsius

C) Egg:

1. Fertilised or non-fertilised (Some Asian diners like eating a fertilised egg)
   
2. Ostrich
3. Kiwi
4. Turkey
5. Hen - Specify Asiatic or other
6. Sparrow - Advise House or Hedge Sparrow
   
7. Rifleman
   
8. Other - Specify please

D) Elevation at boiling water in pot:

1. Above sea level - Specify in metres please
   
2. Below sea level - Specify in metres please

E) Barometric Pressure - at time boiling commences

F) Room Temperature at cooking area - In degrees Celsius

G) Temperature of hourglasses - In degrees Celsius

There may well be other variables, and those which are additional please advise.

The above variables need to be specified correctly, before your diner may be truly happy.

Diversion by Optimusprime:

I do realise that you added the the sentence about the hourglasses and the pot of boiling water, to divert the reader's attention away from the essential information as detailed above.

I await your reply, with the complete and proper Specification

Kind Regards....

so

you really need these information to answer the question?

If I specify every detail of this problem would you explain to me in detail also specifying all the information that I will give you (its use, its significance, etc.)

or would you like to use your common sense, using only the information mentioned in the problem.

You're like a kid, making a fool of your self, asking everything just to answer a very simple question!

It's OK, Optimusprime. He was just making a joke.

May I suggest 4 or 5 minutes in a pressure cooker? Count the seconds , and any difference between counts and accurate clock time will be nullified by the pressure cooker. I doubt anyone can tell the difference between a "fast cooked pressure cooker" egg and a 9-minute ambient pressure boiled egg.

It's funny to see the imagination and humour sense of CR4 people (myself included, of course) in this type of threads.

But another question: How can one distinguish if an egg has been boiled few seconds more or less? As far as I know hens don't read and don't use MIL standards to make exactly equal eggs. The time needed to get the same degree of "hardness" is dependent on the egg size.

What type of instrumentation use the customer to detect the exact boiling time?

Aren't outlawed being so sophisticated? (Much more than a clock)

Best egg recipe ever!!!

1. Place egg in microwave and set to high.
2. Wait for the loud pop!
3. Open microwave and lick interior with long, sticky tongue.

At least that's how my pet anteater likes 'em.

Roll up! Roll up! Get yer egg-timers here! <Splutter>