Puzzles

Math Monday: Giant Burr Puzzles

Math Monday: Giant Burr Puzzles

Giant burr puzzles By George Hart for the Museum of Mathematics For the Math Midway exhibition, The Math Museum created a set of large geometric puzzles. The one seen here is a traditional six-piece burr puzzle in which the six notched pieces of wood interlock in a clever way. When assembled, there are two pieces […]

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Origami Soma cube blocks

Although it can’t be a terribly accurate way to make polycube puzzle pieces, I must admit I am charmed by Qiao Chang’s origami soma cube blocks. [via Neatorama]

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Jonathan Wolfe’s puzzle acorns

Jonathan Wolfe’s puzzle acorns

My buddy Jon makes these awesome little puzzle boxes from acorns. There are four shown in the video: one pair consisting of a smaller hinged acorn that nests, matryoshka-style, inside a larger one with a wire spring latch; a larger, locking nut that is opened by removing a small pin; and, finally, a large hinged version that is unlatched by knocking it against a surface from a certain angle.

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GPS-enabled puzzle box opens only at Île-de-Bréhat, France

GPS-enabled puzzle box opens only at Île-de-Bréhat, France

The first presenter at last Thursday’s Dorkbot Austin was a gentleman named Mikal Hart, who described his “Reverse Geocaching Puzzle.” Designed and built as a wedding gift for an old friend moving to France, the box incorporates an Arduino with a custom shield. A prominent button on the lid, when pressed, returns a distance, in kilometers, on the LCD display (if a GPS signal can be acquired), and counts button-presses up to 50 atttempts. No directional information is provided, so the box must be moved about in order to triangulate the location it wants. Mikal also included a cunningly-disguised back door to allow it to be opened in the event of battery failures or bugs.

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