Can you solve it? The playful genius of Hungarian puzzles
by Alex Bellos from Science | The Guardian on (#5RCE9)
Logic puzzles in three dimensions
UPDATE: To read the solutions click here
When it comes to the world of mathematical puzzles, Hungary is a superpower. Not just because of the Rubik's cube, the iconic toy invented by Ern Rubik in 1974, but also because of its long history of maths outreach.
In 1894, Hungary staged the world's first maths competition for teenagers, four decades before one was held anywhere else. 1894 also saw the launch of KoMaL, a Hungarian maths journal for secondary school pupils full of problems and tips on how to solve them. Both the competition and the journal have been running continuously since then, with only brief hiatuses during the two world wars.
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