Impossibly Impossible Jars

As I may have mentioned before, I'm also getting very interested in 'impossible objects'. These are not exactly mechanical puzzles in the sense that they cannot be physically solved, the real challenge is to work out how they were created. Most people just want to know how it was done, whereas I much prefer coming up with all manner of ridiculous theories, and I'm quite happy to never be told the truth.

Here are a couple of 'object in glass' impossibilities that I got hold of recently:

Golf Ball In A Jar - Jared Brzenski

This is a standard glass jam jar containing an ordinary (and used) 'Noodle' brand golf ball. From the picture the size of the opening looks big enough for the ball to pass through, but that wouldn't make it very interesting. In reality the ball is a fraction too large to pass back through the opening, and as such it seems that it will remained forever sealed inside. This jar was made by Jared Brzenski who sold this creation through his Etsy shop. They are well worth a look.

Spicy - Impossible Bottles

This jar looks a little more exotic with it's wooden lid. It was once an old spice jar, and you can even still smell the spice when you open it. There is a padlock inside which is firmly attached to the wooden lid with a metal hook. The key is also attached to the same hook. You can pull the lid up about an inch, but the padlock will not pass through the neck of the jar. The padlock will still function perfectly well, but only if you can manage to get the key into the keyhole.

Now I do know how this is made as I have seen a similar implementation before, so I actually disassembled it just for kicks.
This jar was made and sold by the English site Impossible Bottles, who also have a range of several other incredible (and impossible) creations for sale for some very reasonable prices. Apparently you can even supply them with your own standard glass bottles, and then they will make them more impossible for you. Very clever!

Midlands Puzzle Party No.5 (MPP5)

It's almost time for the next Midlands Puzzle Party (MPP) to take place!

For those of you who didn't hear about these yet, they are a series of very casual gatherings in the UK where puzzle enthusiasts, collectors, designers etc. can get together and essentially sit and puzzle for a whole day in like-minded company.....with light refreshments!

I wrote about my experience of the first one HERE, and a great account of each of the previous events can also be found on Allard's Blog: (MPP1, MPP2, MPP3, MPP4)

The next one will be the 5th MPP gathering since February of last year, and it will be this coming March. Here are the full details:

MPP5 - Saturday 17th of March 2012

10:00 to 18:00

The Gap

39 Oakwood Grove,
Warwick
CV34 5TD

UK

As the previous MPPs were turning out to be quite popular it was decided that this social club would be hired for the event instead. So for the first time attendees will be asked to pay £5 toward the cost of hiring the club. Any money left over will be used for the light refreshments mentioned earlier.

A discussion of the event and list of confirmed and possible attendees can be found HERE.

Jigsaw Cube

I've seen this puzzle around quite a few times, but as it was always going for quite a high price I never got around to buying it. However a little while ago I found one being sold second hand on eBay for a significantly reduced price, and I thought I'd buy it and see what it's really like.

This puzzle is generally referred to as the 'Jigsaw Cube', and it seems to be manufactured and sold by various different companies, including Eureka and Inform Designs. That probably accounts for why it can be found in quite a few puzzle shops.

Although it is not possible to tell from the pictures, the cube is made up four pairs of pieces, or eight in total. Each of these pieces have inlaid magnets, and as such can only join onto another piece if the magnets attract and the 'jigsaw' cut pieces fit together.

It's also hard to get across the size, weight and build quality of the Jigsaw Cube, and that's the reason that I didn't want to risk buying one for the full price. Now that I've held one and seen it up close I am extremely impressed with the quality of both the metal and the way the magnets have been laid into the individual pieces. The fit and finish is perfect.

The cube measures in at 3.6cm (obviously not including the stand), and as it's made from solid metal and decent rare earth magnets it has a pretty hefty weight to it for it's size.

As a puzzle it's not very difficult, and this is due to a couple of reasons. Firstly; the pieces are made in pairs, so it's easy to tell that the solution requires you to make two identical halves. Secondly; the pieces are numbered internally, which is very unnecessary and a little annoying. This shouldn't take anyone more than a couple of minutes to solve.

If you like having high quality metal puzzles in your collection then this is definitely a puzzle for you. It may have a relatively high cost for it's size, but I think that it is justified in the quality. However as a puzzle it is not difficult at all.

The Jigsaw Cube is currently available from Puzzle Master and Sloyd.

Washer Cylinder (Wil Strijbos)

If you've been with my blog from the beginning you might remember that I reviewed a puzzle by the name of Aluminium Cylinder by one of my absolute favourite puzzle designers Wil Strijbos. That puzzle was probably the first 'high quality' puzzle that I bought, and I liked it so much that it pretty much kicked my puzzle madness up a gear.

Now imagine my excitement when Wil handed me a prototype of a new aluminium cylinder puzzle called the Washer Cylinder at the last Camden puzzle gathering for me to try out!

Washer Cylinder

Now Wil kindly let me hold onto this puzzle for the next three days after the Camden meet, and during that time I failed to solve it. Not only could I not open it, I literally couldn't make any progress with it whatsoever! Needless to say that this piqued my interest significantly, and I put in an order for one immediately!

There are obviously some glaring similarities between the Washer Cylinder and the original Aluminium Cylinder, but there are more differences than meet the eye. The Washer Cylinder is slightly larger overall, and the lid is wider than the original.

Aluminium Cylinder (Left) / Washer Cylinder (Right)

The bottom side of the Washer Cylinder is far more complex than the simple hole that was in the bottom of the original Aluminium Cylinder. There is a much larger hole, and inside that there is a trapped washer (hence the name) spinning freely around an aluminium rod attached to the main body of the puzzle.

The lid on this cylinder will spin freely. Very freely! The smooth movement makes it very obvious that there are once again ball bearings involved.

Washer Cylinder - Underside

Even though this puzzle took me longer to solve than the Aluminium Cylinder, I'd still class the mechanism as being easier to work out. But don't get me wrong, this is a difficult puzzle! Definitely not for the faint of heart.
I must've spent hours of on-and-off puzzling trying to solve this one. And as soon as I worked it out I was pretty happy to say the least! I spent ages staring at the mechanism afterwards to properly work it out. There are some very clever things going on inside this unassuming little cylinder.

It is a brilliant puzzle, and also a pretty impressive piece of mechanical engineering as well. Once again Wil has designed a winner. But honestly, I didn't expect anything less.



The Washer Cylinder is currently available either directly from Wil Strijbos or also from Sloyd in Finland. Drop me an email if you'd like his contact details.

Also, check out Allard's review of the Washer Cylinder!

Knitted Puzzle Cube

I hope each and every one of you had a great Christmas! And now that the new year is quickly approaching I thought I'd squeeze in a quick post (or two) before 2012.

This isn't so much one of my standard reviews, but there was no way that I could get away without mentioning this particular puzzling gift that I received for Christmas from my Other Half's Mum (AKA: Sally).

That's right! It's a knitted puzzle! A Soma Cube to be exact, which is possibly the most famous cube puzzle after the Rubik's Cube. I'd wager that most of you will either own or have come across a Soma Cube at some point during your travels. Like the Diagonal Star it really does turn up everywhere as it seems to have been favoured by the mass production market. But when have you ever seen a knitted one?!

Some of you may even remember that a little while ago I actually made my own Soma Cubes out of dice as a little DIY project.

The Soma Cube was designed by Piet Hein in 1933, and is made up of seven different pieces that can be assembled into a standard 3x3x3 cube with 240 unique assemblies. That sounds like quite a lot until you have to find one. Sally actually said that after she had finished the pieces it took ages to actually find a solution to get it into the box!

Most puzzlers have probably memorised one particular solution to this puzzle, and that is the one that they will choose whenever the need to reassemble a Soma Cube comes up. It is not a hugely difficult puzzle, most people will turn up a solution within 10 minutes or so if they keep randomly playing with the pieces. But this really is one of the true classics, and every puzzler should have one in their collection.

I was really touched by the thought and effort that went into making this puzzle for me, and it has to be one of the real gems in my collection that I'm going to enjoy showing others from now on. Thank you Sally!

I mean really, how often do you see knitted puzzles?

EDIT: After some keen observation from George and Chris (see comments below), it turns out that due to a minor piece irregularity this is not actually a true Soma Cube, but in fact a different puzzle entirely! In a Soma Cube all pieces are different, however in the knitted cube there are two 'right screw tetracubes' whereas in a Soma Cube one of those would be a 'left screw tetracube'.

So in essence, Sally invented a new 3x3x3 puzzle cube with 323 unique assemblies! Pretty funny really. Maybe it should be called 'Sally's Cube' instead?