A seemingly simple maths question has sparked a fierce debate on social media.

Any parents out there will tell you that helping out the kids with their homework can often be easier than it sounds.

Yes, there's a reason the game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? has been able run for nearly two decades and span countless spin-offs around the globe.

You see, although many of us are arrogant enough to think we can open up a kid's textbook and score 100% on a test, in reality, some questions can - and do - leave us stumped.

Take this question for example, which has been circulating on social media since June 2023 - but people still can't agree on a concrete answer.

So, is the question about the meaning of life? A higher power? The true meaning behind George Orwell's most captivating work?

No - it's about a clock.

The question reads: "What is the closest time to midnight?" The following four possible answers are then provided:

A. 11:55AM

B. 12:06AM

C. 11:50AM

D. 12:03:AM

Now, you may be thinking, "Well, that's easy" - but I can assure you, you probably have a different answer to about 75% of your household.

Some people were adamant the answer was A, with one person writing: "Time is a scaler quantity meaning it only goes in 1 direction, forward. So answer is A."

But others agreed:

Others were confident the answer was D, with one X user tweeting: "D is the only answer that makes sense no matter how you look at it."

And many others, once again, agreed:

There were some rogue answers for B and C too, but both A and D were, without a doubt, the two most popular choices.

Now, I'm just going to share some of the logic behind the two answers.

"The use of 'To' and not 'till' is the only reason for pause before answering," one person wrote. Another interjected: "Do you want which one is closest to becoming midnight because it’s A, or do you want which one is closest to midnight in the current minute which is D."

"It can't be D because it will take a whole 23 hours to get to midnight again so it's A," another added.

Some people even took to asking AI for the correct answer (with AI declaring D the correct answer),

As I see it, if I told a friend I'd meet them at midnight, I'd probably think they'd be okay with me rocking up three minutes late at 12:03AM rather than nearly 12 hours late at 11:55AM - as, y'know, that's the closest TO midnight.

Featured image credit: Thierry Chesnot / Stringer / Getty

If you're anything like me, chances are that you hated maths in school and needed more than a little help with your homework.

In the early days of my struggle with numbers, my parents could quite easily help me solve the problem, but as the sums went on, that wasn't always possible.

However, despite all this, there are some levels of math that I would like to think I'd be able to tackle easily, like a seven-year-old's homework.

But one mom was unable to do this very thing, and that's why she took to the internet for help, The Sun reports.

Sharing a snap of the tricky problem on the Facebook group Family Lockdown Tips and Tricks, Teresa Hopper wrote: "I hate homework. Please help! Is the answer to a) & b) the same or am I missing something?!"

The difficult question reads: "Karla says: "I have three hundreds counters, 17 tens counters and 16 ones counters [sic].

"a) Can she make two equal three-digit numbers? If so, draw the counters to show them.

"b) Can she make two equal three-digit numbers if she had to use all her counters? If so, draw the counters to show them."

However, despite the fact that this question was aimed at a seven-year-old child, even the collective adult brains of this Facebook group couldn't work it out - and it even stumped a person with a Ph.D. in maths.

One person wrote: "Clearly not for a 40 year old woman, I'm lost [sic]."

A second added: "I'm 45 and I can't work it out lol."

Meanwhile, to the amusement of the entire group, a third wrote: "I have a PhD in maths, and I have no idea what this question is asking. Unless there’s a diagram to go with it, or more explanation somewhere else [sic]."

As per News.com.au, Teresa told Fabulous Digital that they managed to get it right in the end, answering 172 for a and 243 for b.

She said: "I did and the teacher has marked it as correct! I certainly didn’t expect it to be so difficult."

When you really stop and think about it, the best years of your life were when you were like, 15, weren't they?

The biggest stress in your life was whether your mom would let your best friend sleep over that weekend, exams were an actual joke at that time and it was always sunny. At least, that's the way I remember it.

The thing with growing up and becoming an adult is that the stress just builds and builds until you retire. Taxes, unexpected costs, the pressure of trying to maintain a meaningful relationship and the crushing knowledge that your time on Earth is finite. Oh, the laughs stop in adulthood, let me tell you.

Here are some tweets that you, an adult, will relate to on an almost spiritual level.

1. Naptime is now sacred

2. Told you it was stressful 

3. Bedtime is the best time 

4. Recovery time is a lot longer 

5. Now you know the secret

6. Be sensible, now

7. Maintaining friendships is akin to solving a Rubix cube behind your back

8. The freedom, it's all too much

9. Just think it through! 

10. Talking points: the weather, level of exhaustion

Adulthood: telling everyone how tired you are, before going home and sleeping 'til morning.

Some people just have life figured out. Do you know what I mean? Maybe you don't because you simply don't have the requisite amount of swagger and confidence. I know I sure don't. But some people are just so totally self-assured, that they're able to get away with stuff that the rest of us can only dream of, and can rely on their charisma, skill or just plain good luck to get them out of a terrible fix.

For instance, take the people in the following list. We've trawled through the internet to find the movers and shakers out there, the people possessed of supreme nerve and ingenuity, who have dazzled us with their super-impressive life hacks. Scroll down to check them out.

1. This granny's got moves

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2. And this student does as well

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3. This boy will change the way you see calendars

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4. This guy got a free graduation

5. Easy to find on the carousel

6. Literally Mr Incredible

7. How did they manage to hide it?

8. Shopping and drinking

9. The fake hand hack

10. That kid has a lot to answer for

11. I have to get one of these

The people who always have life figured out best though are your parents. Seriously, I know that I can always rely on my mum and dad when things get tough. So, do yourself a favour and check out these 8 incredible examples of parents getting it right.