Magic Carpet - Solution
by
Erik Oosterwal
The solution to this puzzle is closely related to
The Disappearing Tile teaser on
The Puzzle Page. If you haven't seen that
one already, be sure to check it out.
The curious diagram drawn on the carpet is known as a Curry square, after
Paul Curry, who first discovered a number of squares and triangles with the
unique property of being able to have a section removed and still appear
to be the same size.
Of course the carpet in the third diagram is not the same size as the original
carpet, but if you want to see for yourself, print out 2 copies of the second
diagram as large as you can, very carefully cut along the lines of one of
them, then lay out the cut-out pieces on top of the other print-out
the way you see them in the third diagram. You should see that the
original carpet is 1/12 longer than what you end up with after removing the
1x1 square.
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