Henry Ernest Dudeney/Modern Puzzles/131 - The Garden Path

Modern Puzzles by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $131$

The Garden Path

This is an old puzzle that I find frequently cropping up.

Many find it perplexing, but it is easier than it looks.

A man has a rectangular garden, $55$ yards by $40$ yards,

and he makes a diagonal path, one yard wide, exactly in the manner indicated in the diagram.

What is the area of the path?

Dimensions for the garden are generally given that only admit of an approximate answer,

but I select figures that will give an answer that is quite exact.

Sources

• 1926: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Modern Puzzles ... (previous) ... (next): Geometrical Problems: Various Geometrical Puzzles: $131$. -- The Garden Path
• 1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Geometrical Problems: Triangle, Square & Other Polygon Puzzles: $261$. The Garden Path