Evening star., 1932-07-24

On IOoiClOIl Vi COIilS at LQe start OF tnLS
riddle is:
Pennies Nickels
Q .
You can create a distinct illusion with
double cone and two sticks which will mystify
observers until the working principle of the
trick is explained. Make two cones with bases
inches in diameter and inches high out of
soft wood and cement the cones into one piece
by glueing their bases together Make an in
clined track with the junction of the sticks
or rails on the floor or table. Then roll the
double cone down that plane and it will look
as though it is ascending the incline. This is
because the center Of gravity of the double
cone Is moving in . vertical plane between
the two sticks. 1t occupies lower position
as the points of contact on the sticks get higher
Hence as the cone rolls up the sticks its center
OF gravity deScends.
Learned mathematicians as well as adept chess
players who have performed the following feat
recommend 1t to your attention II you are
interested in chessboard befuddlers. The object
Il to place knight at Q given position on the
board and then move it 30 that it occupies all
possible positions on the game board once and
finally ends up at the starting point This
requires IS moves and plenty Of the strategy
and thinking which dignity the successful
solver OF brain teasers such as this one.
During early times. magic squares were used
~ SSAto1AA Va tAlc oIlCcut Se6IS ana SOOtnS3yerS
as the foundation Of their fortune telling Even
today the puzzle fan can reap amusement and
recreation from magic squares of either an odd
or an even number of spaces. Here is a simple
test OF your proweSs with numbers. Draw q
4-Slded l6-space square and then attempt to
arrange the numbers from l to 16 in that
square so that the sum Of the figures in the
diagonal extending from the lower left hand
70 the upper right hand corner will equal the
sum OF the figures in the diagonal from upper
left hand corner to the lower right hand corner
OF the square. The magic square puzzle Is more
difficult to solve if an even number rather than
an odd number squares Is used.
DROBLEMS in Formulation and combination
are common in certain classes of Uranium
perplexers. Fifteen players on a base ball squad
walk in trios from their hotel to the training
field twice daily for spring practice for one
month. Presupposing that no single player
walks in a group of with any other given
player more than once. how many tros can the
Is players Be divided into?
Practical puzzles of wood which are held
together by key blocks and interlocking joints
are now available for testing the ingenuity of
those who believe that everything can be solved
If you only attack the riddle persistently In the
right way. ing gcnious japanese craftsmen lead
the world in the origination, production and
distribution Of these brain 5esters. No di-
rectlons accompany these puzzles. The catch"
IS for the purchaser to dissemb}e and then as
sembe the wooden device again without mis-
cues or mistakes. Each puzzle Is q faithful
product of the laws Of Formulation and COM
nonsense. 1t may be perfect cube composed
of Is or II interlccking blocks Of wood held to-
gether with key block. Sometimes the cube
IS made more bizarre by beveltng all It's corners.
Another popular puzzle Of similar construction
is made in the form Of a warship, two of the
guns in this case being the key blocks. The
only way to solve these condundrums worked
in wood is to study them painstakingly you
first dissemble them after purchase.
Many notifications of the famous Is puzzle
are now played with daily by the young and
old, unschooled and highly educated fans In
all parts of the world. The original IS was q
teaser composed of Is numbered blocks in q
fiat box designed to accommodate 16 such
blocks. The purpose of this riddle was to move
the blocks about NE checkers without lifting
them from the container in such manner that
the number Is block would occupy every posi-
ton on the board in numerical succession. This
is 4 real test of any players skill and patience.
Notifications have reduced the number Of
blocks to seven in some of the new styles by
doubling and even quadrupling the size of some
Of the blocks. Fffty-e:ght moves are necessary
with this revised equipment to work" the baf
fer correctly.
Puzzle peg has won many devotees among
those who gain fun matching wits against the
mental mystifers. This game board is circular
and forms the background Of q large white
cross, the surface Of which Is speckled with 50
pegholes. 70 begin with, an the hoses except
one are occupied by small wooden pegs. The
idea is for the player to Jump intervening pees
and thus remove them from the field q play.