A 'friend' showed me a really cool, but really, really, really hard puzzle about a week ago, and I've been hooked ever since, trying to solve it. It goes like this (for further reference, see the attached images):
Draw a rectangle
Divide it in half
Divide the top half in half
Divide the bottom half in (somewhat equal) thirds
Now try to draw a line through ALL of the lines, without intersecting a line more than once, or crossing your line. the lines may be squiggly, straight, jagged, or any other shape or form, just as they abide by the rules. This may appear easy, but (at least to me) it's been very hard, almost to the point of annoying-I'm usually excellent at this puzzles (even the infamous 'zebra puzzle'), but this one has me boggled. I'm also not sure if it's even solvable-I have conflicting reports; one friend insists that it is not, the other (the one who showed it to me) insists that it is. I did search on the internet, but could not find any examples of it.
Note: I'm not necessarily asking for the answer-I merely want to see if other people can solve it-and how long it took them. I may come off looking like a complete fool (a week? It took me 3 minutes!) .
Feel free to post any of your favorite puzzles/brain teasers.

Took me less than a minute on paper! Much longer to make image.

Ron



This post has been edited by Major Payne: Apr 15 2008, 02:07 AM

I hate to...'burst your bubble', but you missed a line (see attached)! This is what makes this puzzle so annoying; at first it appears that it's been solved, but, upon closer inspection, there's always a line missed. I usually miss the two center lines, just like you.

I sure did. I did the puzzle on paper, then drew it quickly in paint.net and didn't even notice the one missing. Not the first time my "bubble" has been burst. Guess it's impossible: Non-solution

New puzzle that's solvable:

The idea of this puzzle is to draw the diagram below without removing your pen or pencil from the paper and without repeating any of the lines.



Ron

Solution

This post has been edited by Major Payne: Apr 15 2008, 09:32 PM

Ah! I was afraid it was unsolvable...a whole week wasted! But not really... That new puzzle looks interesting, I'll get on it tomorrow, once I have some 'free time' (a.k.a math class, when I finish about 45 min. before everybody else). I don't know if you've heard about the zebra puzzle, but it's a great one-and very easy, if you take the right approach. There are several variants-but they are mostly the same.
Variant A (watch out! There is the answer if you scroll down!)
Variant B
Tables (or for me, little pictures) are your friend for this one...

I got it-checked the solution with the answer on the link you provided. Took me about 20 minutes; definitely a good time killer. I used the classic 'X-house' (I don't know what you'd call it) puzzle for reference, in making the x-square. See below. I made a typo in the directions in the image, it should say 'do not go over any line more than once'. I left out line.

This post has been edited by dllp117: Apr 16 2008, 09:56 PM

Is that the correction solution in the image you posted? Seems to be missing the other three sides.

Ron

lol, no, that's a different puzzle that I used for reference- it's basically the same puzzle, albeit with only one 'roof' instead of 4, so I used it to get the square shape with the x drawn. Though, looking back at the puzzle you provided, I'm not so sure that I did solve it right....I can't seem to redo it...hm....

Impossible YES!!! I have been doing that puzzle since middle school every now and again when i think about it...

Like just doodling on the phone or whatever...never solved that i know of. When I first drew it, I was told the line goes through door ways only one way through not going back wards. I had forgotten about it till I saw your post AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr ... does anyone know if this puzzle is solveable? I've copied and pasted 8 to a page and printed a couple and a few times I've been jubilantly reproducing the result in paint only to realise I've missed one There's got to be a strange twist to it (if it is in fact solveable).

I am assuming you are talking about the X-house.
Yes, it is solveable. I can post the solution if you like.

No, I'm referring to the OP dllp117's first post ... haven't even looked at that one!

It's not solvable... read the rest of the thread