Monday, September 23, 2013

The Puzzler: Planet Tri-Gravito

On the very strange planet of Tri-Gravito the Yellowers, Reddians and Blueys live on three different planes of gravity. Each group's floor is the next group's wall. It is very confusing and even dangerous for everyone. An emergency plan has been proposed that all residents should wear brightly colored yellow, red or blue outfits in order to avoid severe injury. As you can see here, only the leader from each group is wearing the colored safety uniforms. The entire population of 15 people is visible in the picture.  

QUESTION:  
How many more of each color uniform (yellow, red and blue) are needed? 

 


This intriguing work of art, minus the colors, is "Relativity" from 1953, by M.C. Escher. More works by Escher may be found here. 

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LAST ISSUE'S PUZZLER: Mona Lisa Mischief, with ANSWER 

The mischievous criminal known as Dr. Phi has struck again! Last night at midnight, the geometry-obsessed prankster was seen breaking into the Louvre Museum in Paris, France and stealing Leonardo da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa painting. Based on the evidence, police authorities are worried that Dr. Phi has sliced up the priceless work into odd-shaped bits and pieces. It is up to you, students of the world, to unravel the mystery. Dr. Phi left behind a ransom note and the strange image seen below. The note reads: 

"Tell me the name of the rectangles shown 
 And unharmed I'll return it—we'll just call it a loan! 
              BWAH HA HA HA!!! - Dr. Phi." 

QUESTION: What is Dr. Phi talking about? Fill in the blank below: 

This image shows many examples of a _______________ rectangle. 

 




ANSWER: Golden rectangle.  

 
EXPLANATION: The Greeks discovered a proportion they named the golden ratio. When this ratio is used to form a rectangle, it is called a golden rectangle. The Greeks considered the golden ratio and golden rectangles to be beautiful and used them extensively in their architecture. In fact the golden ratio proportion is found throughout the natural world and even in human hands and faces and eyes!. 

You can learn more here about golden rectangles and how they relate to the Mona Lisa. 

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