Burning Time

You have two one-hour fuses: If you light one, it will be consumed in exactly one hour.

Unfortunately, they’re badly made — some sections of each fuse burn faster than others. You know only that each full fuse will burn in one hour.

Using only these two fuses (and matches to light them), how can you tell when 45 minutes have passed?

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Double one fuse and light both its ends. At the same time, light the second fuse. The first fuse will burn out in 30 minutes. When it does, light the remaining end of the second fuse. When that fuse burns out, 45 minutes will have passed.