According to the folks at Space Cubes, "The clever bit is that until you have all 6 pieces together, the CUBE falls apart .   There is no glue, magnets or clips .   When all 6 pieces are together, they each hold each other together to form the CUBE .

That is the clever bit .   The cube is very strong until you twist one piece and then it falls apart."

   

Although their online catalog does not display it, one can still purchase the Black Box by just asking for it through the e-mail .

This puzzle is made of a stiff plastic, and remains stable throughout all climate changes, which is crucial to this kind of puzzle - the sliding seams have to be perfectly matched (and thus, invisible) .

The black color aids in hiding them even further .   Each of the three sides of each half of the puzzle are ever-so-slightly less than 90° to ensure a fairly tight fit as the two halves are fitted together .

See a larger animation . . . click on the pic

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 Molecule  
This unique 24-piece gem was one of 54 entries in the 2001 IPP21 Puzzle Design Competition as seen on John Rausch's  Puzzle World  

According to Joe's intro, "This brain teaser has several colorful disks that have been cleverly designed to fit into other pieces.   This gives rise to a colorful structure that some say looks like a molecule.  There are approximately 11 Billion colorful permeations.   An exact count is unknown ."

Jacob's Ladder . . . the toy
Back in the 50s (this toy probably dates back as far as, or further than, 1352 B.C.), when I was just a young child , a flip-flop toy known as  Jacob's Ladder -- how to make  came to my attention .   This toy was so named for the biblical Jacob who saw a ladder leading from earth to heaven in a vision, . . . . ."   "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. (Genesis 28:12)"  Jacob's Ladder -- angels

These next two pics below, however, are part of my collection, but set aside as just a toy, not as a puzzle .   Being a 3D version (with the dog's head) of the basic toy, I couldn't help but purchase it off eBay .

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Originally made of wood or strong cardboard, plain (like above). . . or with various decorative patterns on its rectangular surfaces -- or with 3D figure representations (as in the pics to the left), holding the flip-flop in a vertical position, one would allow the 'free' block to start its way down - alternating its descent by flipping on one side, and flopping on the other - the entire 'chain' of blocks until it settled on the bottom .

Magic Chain
ENTER . . . the Modern version, incorporating the use of metal rings .

This amusing toy will boggle anyone's mind.   Everyone will see the ring falling from the top of the chain . . . to the bottom end of the chain, but all the rings are solidly connected.   So how is it possible?

Matchstick Puzzle Cube

One of the most complex of the matchstick puzzles (in 3D), this cube is held together with nothing more than the match heads themselves -- no glue . . . no trick notches .
<<< This picture -- taken from the front paper cover of my hardcover 200-page puzzle book titled "Creative Puzzles of the World", authored by Pieter Van Delft and Jack Botermans, with 216 illustrations, 131 full-color pics, 1304 two-color and black & white drawings -- portrays a cube of basic design .   I don't know where the maker got the red matches with the yellow heads .   Perhaps matchstick manufacturers around the country offer varying color-schemes for their matchstick products .

Unfortunately the book has no direct solution to give other than this statement: "Nothing holds the 114 matchsticks of this structure together except the skill of its design .   If you have determination and time to spare, give it a try .   The first phase of building is log-cabin technique -- one four-match square piled on top of another ."

This checkerboard-patterned cube was made by Mark, from Texas, a man with whom I've since began a friendship, and from whom I've had the priviledge of purchasing this mini-perplexity through E-Bay, with much patience and perserverance, has solved the mystery of its unique construction on his own, and has since developed and perfected a special technique of making it in an hour's time -- with first-time success, every time !

One just cannot imagine the amount of dexterity and patience one has to perform . . . and endure . . . to fascilitate a victorious assembly of one of these Little Titans . . . . . until one actually tries it !

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These next 3 cubes were fabricated by another friend of mine, Johan Heyns, of South Africa, who, by sheer determination, created them on his own instead of acquiring them from another source .   The two larger cubes were made using 'long' matches, and 507 of them were required to complete the checkerboard version on the left .

The bottom cube is of 'normal' length . . . the most common of all matchsticks bought in a grocery or hardware store .

Saddle The Horses . . . a cardboard puzzle

According to the folks at  PuzzlePLAYGROUND :

"Puzzle promoter Sam Loyd invented 'Saddle the Horse' in 1872. Loyd sold the concept to P.T. Barnum (of Barnum and Bailey circus fame), who handed out millions of them to circus-goers under the name "P.T. Barnum’s Trick Mules.

It has since taken on many variations, from clowns on donkeys to witches on black cats, and has delighted generations of puzzle lovers around the world. "

The idea is to arrange the three cards so that each rider is in his correct riding position on top of each horse, and that the horses are then in a full-out racing position .

For the solution, click  here  

 Balancing Act

 Russian Puzzle  

Also try  Nick Baxter's pages  of many interactive block puzzles

 ~ SAM LOYD'S Cyclopedia Of Puzzles ~

 ~ Pictures of stacked pennies ~

 'Star Molecule'  ~ A coin transfer solution ~