A Pair of Puzzles
(Page 2 of 3)
Puzzle Pointers
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Have you given up already? Well, here are the
solutions. . . if you really think you need them.
THE CAMELAND THE NEEDLE
To work this puzzle, turn it so that the center loop
runs behind the two center strands, and pull down
on the loop to enlarge it. Now, move the right ring up
through the center loop and then behind it, as shown in
Fig. 1. Next, feed the entire center loop through
the center hole.
On the back side of the puzzle, feed the ring
through two loops (see Fig. 2), then pull the
center loop back through the center hole. Now, pull the
ring back through the center loop. Both rings should hang
on the left loop. Follow this same sequence to put the
puzzle in its original form.
THE RING THING
Explaining how to solve this puzzle is almost
as difficult as working the brain teaser! Although each
step of the solution is given here, you may want to attempt
to figure it out on your own after you understand the basic
technique.
Set the puzzle so it straddles your knees, with the
handle on your right knee. From left to right, then,
mentally number the rings and nails 1 through 6 (from here
on, the rings and nails will be referred to as R1, N2,
etc.).
Pull the wire to the right so that it snugs against N1,
thus freeing R1. Next, push the wire back slightly and
under the left-hand side of R2. Tilt R2 and "drop" it
through the wire. Then push the wire to the left and drop
R1 through. When you pull the wire to the right, it will be
hooked on N3, with R1, R2, and R3 free. Now, push the wire
slightly left and drop R4 through. By this time, you'll
notice a sequence emerging: To drop and free a ring and the
nail it's attached to, the wire must be hooked around
thereceding nail. Therefore, to free N3, you need
to go back and hook the wire around N2 .To do so, push the
wire through R3 andover the tops of R2 and R1.
Now "pick up" R1 (by pulling it back up through the wire
and setting it in its original position), then do the same
to R2. The puzzle should now look as it did at the
start—with one side of the rings over the wire and
the other side under the wire—except that R4 is free,
with both sides under the wire. Then drop R1, so that the
wire hooks on N2. This enables you to drop R3. Next, go
back over R1 and pick it up; then drop R2. Then drop R1 . .
. and pull the wire to the right. You should be hooked on
N5, which puts you in position to drop R6. Congratulations.
. . you've just completed, in essence, the first "step" by
removing R6. Your objective now is to remove R5 (by hooking
on N4) . . . then remove R4 (by hooking on N3). . . and so
on.
