 |
Fellowship of Christian Magicians
(United Kingdom) |
|
|
|
|
by Peter Gardner |
|
|
Fellowship of Christian Magicians
(United Kingdom) |
|
|
|
|
by Peter Gardner |
|
|
|
Sometimes I run team building
workshops and use this puzzle to get the teams to try and think
laterally to work out the puzzle.
I also use this puzzle in church services. The message being that a puzzle only remains a mystery until you either work it out for yourself or somebody tells you the answer. Then it all seems so clear and simple. It's the same with the Gospel message it all becomes clear when somebody explains it to you. |
| My puzzle is made from seven,
six inch nails and a large block of wood. I got mine from one of
the corner pieces of an old wooden pallet. I drilled one hole in
the centre about 1 inch deep and drilled two parrallel rows of three,
one each side of the central hole.
I glued one six inch nail into the centre hole and then sprayed the block with black paint to finish it off. The six holes are to hold the remaining six nails when in transit or not being used |
|
| The object of the puzzle is to
balance all the six nails on the head of the nail which is fixed into
the block.
The nails may only touch other nails. They must not touch the wooden block and they must be self supporting. You can in fact use larger number than six nails, in fact this makes it easier but six nails makes it more of a challenge. |
 |
 |
The solution to the puzzle is
to lay the six nails as shown in the picture on the left.
If you now carefully pick up the nails by holding the two horizontal nails at either end, gravity will cause the heads of the nails to lock against the nails and hold the whole shape together. The six nails can now be lifted up and balanced on the head of the nail in the block of wood as shown in the picture below. |
|
I hope that you give this a try as once you have made one it will last you for years |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revised: July 29, 2007.
|
