Six faces of a hexaflexagon. (Click to enlarge.)
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A hexaflexagon is paper disc that looks like it has two sides, a front and back, but when you "flex" it, the hexaflexagon reveals six (6) different faces. You will be amazed!
For example, here are the six faces of one of my own hexaflexagons.
Also, the flexing action is so therapeutic that you won't want to stop.
To be rigorously correct, these flexagons should be called hexahexaflexagons. That's worth knowing for web searches. The first "hexa" denotes the six different faces, and the second "hexa" denotes the shape of the flexagon. But the 6-faced job is the king of them all, so I simply call it the hexaflexagon. Heck, most of the time, I just call it a "flexagon". Accept no substitutes!
You can find other web pages which discuss the hexaflexagon. They will even tell you how to make one yourself. (See below.) But be forewarned - your first effort will take many hours, and your first flexagon will work just like the piece o' junk it's sure to be. Whoops, didn't mean to alienate anybody there.
Anyhow, why not buy one cheap from an experienced pro?
For $2, you can!
My hexaflexagon is 3.5 inches in diamater. They are made with double-ply paper for sturdiness, and so colored pens won't bleed through.
UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR FLEXAGON WILL NOT BE PREDECORATED. YOUR FLEXAGON COMES COMPLETELY BLANK. What do you expect for a couple of bucks? Show the world your true artistic talent and decorate the faces in 6 completely different ways - with solid colors, colorful patterns, drawings, stickers, special messages, etc. (See, a flexagon loses its raison d'etre if the faces all look the same.)
You can even cut a photo into pie slices and glue it onto a face.
Kids love them, too! (But don't pin me down on whether that's flexing the things, or destroying them!)
For orders in the U.S. the cost is $2 per hexaflexagon.
There are three steps:
1. Send me an email at donaldsauter@gmail.com indicating you are ordering a hexaflexagon for $2. Include your MAILING ADDRESS (optional, if your address on file with PayPal is up-to-date.)
2. Wait for a CONFIRMATION EMAIL indicating everything is in order. This is mainly for your benefit; without confirmation you might not be sure this offer is still in effect.
3. Deposit $2 in my PAYPAL account, using my email address, donaldsauter@gmail.com . In PayPal, click the button for "This is a purchase of Goods." Also enter a short message in the "Email to recipient" box, so that I will receive a notification message from PayPal.
That's it. Sit back and wait a few days for your hexaflexagon.
SAMPLE EMAIL ORDER: No need to be clever and original - just use the following as a template:
Hi Don!
Please send a blank hexaflexagon.
I will deposit $2 in your Paypal account.
Thanks!
Sally
SALLY GOODIN
9316 PEACH PIT DR
COBBLER GA 21567
FOREIGN ORDERS: Here is the total cost, including shipping, to these countries:
Canada and Mexico: $2.50
All other countries: $3.00
DO IT YOURSELF: Here, I think, are the clearest instructions on the web for making a
hexaflexagon:
Kathryn Huxtable's Instructions for Making Hexahexaflexagons.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS: Kathryn also provides instructions on how to flex the hexaflexagon. Unfortunately, the pictures supplied with flexing instructions always seem lacking to me. Perhaps video instructions on the web, which I have not checked out, do a better job.
When flexing a hexaflexagon, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS:
BEFORE OPENING THE HEXAFLEXAGON TO REVEAL THE NEXT FACE, YOU MUST HAVE THE HEXAFLEXAGON COMPLETELY SCRUNCHED UP.
This means that when you look down on it in your hands, you will see it as 3 "spokes", in the shape of a Y or T, where each "spoke" is a pair of adjacent sides squeezed together. Then, at that point, you open it up UNIFORMLY, from the central, top point. Imagine a blossom opening up.
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