Arrange 3 Knives to Rest on Tips of Handles
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Problem
How can you arrange $3$ knives to balance while supported only by their handles?
Variant
Arrange $3$ knives so they can support a drinking glass, while in the space between $3$ other glasses placed on the table, another glass can be placed underneath that first glass.
Solution
Historical Note
This problem appears for the first time in Récréations Mathématiques of $1624$ by H. van Etten.
In its English translation, it is worded to arrange three knives so that they:
- hang in the air without being supported by anything but themselves.
Sources
- 1633: Henry van Etten: Mathematicall Recreations (translated by William Oughtred from Récréations Mathématiques)
- 1992: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Puzzles ... (previous) ... (next): Henry van Etten: $112$