Part 13
The Teetotum is a kind of top or whirligig that is spun round by twisting the upper part between the thumb and finger. It is usually of a hexagon or octagon shape, but sometimes it is four-sided only, and may be easily made by cutting a piece of wood of an inch or thereabouts in diameter, and a third of an inch in thickness, into the required shape. A stick run through the middle of the disc and fixed makes it complete, and the result is a useful rough and homely teetotum.
[Illustration: Teetotum.]
Originally teetotums had four sides only, which were respectively marked with the letters T, H, N, and P, signifying Take all, Take half, Nothing, and Put in again to pool. The toys, as now improved, are made with more sides, and are variously numbered. In many of the toy games a teetotum is used in place of dice, but simple teetotum games are played with nuts or some such things for stakes. There are otherwise no special games for the teetotum; it is mostly used in various race and other games of chance.
TIT-TAT-TO.
_See_ "Slate Games."
TOURNAMENT.
This is another new round game, a development of and improvement upon some old friends. It is played on a circular mahogany board. A number of tops, teetotums, or champions of different colours are spun in the centre of the board by different players, and these tops are apt to strike and knock each other about. The player whose top dies nearest the centre of the board wins the game. The game may be played on an ordinary tray, or even on a table if desired.
TRAILS.
_See_ "Squails."
TROUBLE WIT.
_See_ "Magic Fan."
WONDERFUL TRUMPET.
The wonderful trumpet is a very simple toy, and to those who like practical joking, affords amusement, except to the one against whom the joke is made. Get a tube made of tin, wood, or cardboard, a piece of cork, and the hollow part of a quill. Cut a slice about half an inch in thickness off the cork, and place it about half-way down the tube, as at _a b_ in Fig. 1 in the illustration. Next cut a second slice from the cork, making notches round its edge, and a hole in the centre through which to pass the quill. When this is done fix it at the points _c d_, contriving so that the quill will extend about two-thirds of the way down the upper compartment of the tube. Instead of closing up the compartment e with a piece of cork at the point _c d_, wood, tin, or cardboard may be used, it only being necessary that a number of small notches or holes should be cut in the material used. The trumpet is then complete, and should be represented by Fig. 2.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Section of Wonderful Trumpet.]
The following is the use to which it is put:--Place flour, or some harmless dust or powder, in the compartment of the tube marked _e_, block up as instructed the end at _c d_, hand the trumpet to him against whom the joke is to be directed, and instruct him that by blowing through the end of the quill protruding an effect both marvellous and unexpected will be produced. "Blow hard," say; "the harder the better." If he carries out his instructions the flour or powder will come through the holes or notches at the point _c d_, covering the face of the poor unfortunate victim. Viciousness in the use of this instrument should be sternly condemned--a little flour in a boy's face will not harm him, but great care should be taken to ascertain the effects of the material placed in the tube, as certain powders lodging in a person's eyes might do serious injury. Practical joking is not to be much encouraged, but, practised occasionally, and with fun only for its object, is not to be entirely condemned.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Wonderful Trumpet.]
* * * * *
In winding up the section on Toy Games and Toy-making, it is appropriate to quote the remarks of some of the jurors of the Great International Exhibition, held in London in 1862, who said in effect, when speaking of toys generally, in setting forth their views on the subject, "that toys should be vivid, innocent, and delightful; fitted to teach children to open their eyes, to compare and to observe, and to make them aware how rich and varied are the phenomena of the fair world into which they have been placed, and how much happiness is to be obtained in it."
The manufacture of children's toys forms a very considerable item in the leading industries of the world. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland alone imports foreign toys to the amount of upwards of £200,000 annually, and this is entirely in addition to the considerable support given to our extensive home manufacture. Among the miscellaneous toys referred to at the commencement of this section were "Noah's Arks," and much wonder has frequently been expressed at the small sum for which toys of this nature are to be purchased. They are usually the product of the skill of the Germans and the Tyrolese. In the Valley of Grödnerthal, in the Tyrol, where almost every cottage is a carver's workshop, Noah's Ark animals are made in very large quantities from a species of pine. The wood is cut into slabs, of from fifteen inches in diameter by three inches thick, the grain of the wood being in the direction of the thickness. A circular piece, six inches in diameter, is cut out of the centre, leaving a ring four or five inches broad. This ring is turned in a lathe, with chisels and gouges, over every part of the surface, on both sides, and on the inner and outer edges. The curvatures, ridges, &c., are very remarkable, but are perfectly understood by the workmen, and by them only. The outer ridge is then cut up radially into slices, each of which slices presents the outline of some animal on both surfaces, the shaping of the wood in the lathe having been such as to bring about this result. Each separate piece is ultimately brought to completion by hand-carving. One of the museums in Kew Gardens, near London, contains specimens of this singularly ingenious manufacture, in various stages of progress.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] This game has been registered by Mr. Cremer, of 210, Regent Street, as has also the following one called "Targetta."
MECHANICAL PUZZLES.
It would be impossible to give a complete list of the subjects that might be fairly classed under Mechanical Puzzles. What is a puzzle to one generation is none to the next, and so on; new puzzles are constantly being invented and found out. There are a few old ones around which a considerable amount of interest must centre because of their intrinsic merit, and which should find a place in every book prepared for the amusement and recreation of youth; there are also new ones not yet much known, which should be mentioned more because of their newness, perhaps, than their merit.
BALANCING PUZZLES.
A few Balancing Puzzles have been included in the section allotted to Toy Games and Toy-making; for inasmuch as a certain amount of making was necessary, it seemed proper to place them there, and it is sufficient now to refer the reader to that section for some varieties in Balancing Puzzles that are not to be found here.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--The Balanced Pail.]
_The Balanced Pail_ (Fig. 1.)--To balance a pail suspended by its handle on a stick, less than half of which rests on its support, would seem to be an impossible feat. It is to be done, however, if the following instructions be carefully followed:--Take a stick (C D), over which the handle of the bucket or pail is to be placed, and place the stick about two-fifths of its length on a table (A B). The handle of the pail should be so placed over the stick as to be in an inclined position shown by the letters H I, and so that the edge of the pail may touch the edge of the leg or side of the table. To make the pail retain its position, another stick (E F G) will be required, the one end of which should reach to the bottom of the pail, the other end being fitted into a notch previously cut at the point E, in the first stick (C D). The stick (E F G) should rest on the edge of the pail at the point F. The bucket will thus be kept safely balanced, and may, provided the sticks are fairly strong, without risk be filled with water.
_The Balanced Stick._--A stick may be balanced and made to stand upright on the top of the finger by first taking the precaution to insert into its upper end, at about half an inch from that end, two knives, or two forks, or two other articles of equal weight. The stick should be of such a length that the ends of the knives are a trifle lower than the end of the stick when balanced.
_A similar puzzle is to make a coin turn on its edge on the point of a needle, or to make a needle turn on its point on the head of a pin._ For either of these puzzles, get a bottle, cork it tightly, and in the cork (which we will name B) place a needle or a pin; then take another cork (which we will call X) and cut a slit in one of its ends, so that the coin to be balanced will fit into the slit. If it is on a needle that the coin has to be balanced, force the needle into the cork B point outwards. Now stick two common steel forks, one on either side, into cork X, so that the forks hang downwards; place the coin in the slit of the last-mentioned cork and the edge of the coin on the point of the needle. If the needle is to be balanced on a pin, place the needle in the same manner; the weight of the forks will keep the toy balanced, and enable it to be safely spun round without danger of falling.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--The Bridge of Knives.]
_The Bridge of Knives_ (Fig. 2).--Three knives may be supported by their handles on the rims of three cups or glasses in the following manner:--Place the glasses in a triangle, each side of which shall be about equal in length to one of the knives to be balanced. The blade of the first knife should rest on the blade of the second by passing over it near to the point where the handle and blade are joined, the blade of the second passing in the same manner over the blade of the third, which is to be made to rest on the blade of the first. The handles being then properly placed on each one of the glasses forming the triangle, the bridge will be made, and it will be strong enough to bear a considerable weight.
THE SQUARE AND CIRCLE PUZZLE.
Cut a square piece of cardboard, marked as shown in Fig. 3, into four pieces of equal size and similar shape, so that each piece shall contain three of the marks, and so that none of the marks are cut. Fig. 4 shows that the puzzle is solved by cutting the lines A from a quarter down on the left-hand side to half-way across, then down through the middle to three-quarters of the distance from the top, and then along to the opposite side of the card. The line B takes a corresponding course, being commenced on the top line at a quarter of the whole distance from the right-hand side.
[Illustration:
+-----------------------+ | O O O | | | | | | O O | | O O | | O O | | | | | | O O O | +-----------------------+
Fig. 3.--Square and Circle--The Problem.]
[Illustration:
+-----------------+-----+ | O O B| O | | | | +A----------+A | | | O|O | | | O B +----+-----+B O | | | O|O | | | A+-----------+A | | | | O |B O O | +------+----------------+
Fig. 4.--Square and Circle--The Solution.]
THE CARPENTER'S PUZZLE.
This is very similar to the above. A carpenter had to mend a hole in a floor which was two feet wide and twelve feet long. The board given him to mend it with was three feet wide and eight feet long. He was instructed to entirely cover the hole, to allow no part of the board to overlap, and he was allowed to cut the board into two pieces only. He accomplished the feat by cutting the board as shown by the dotted lines in the annexed Fig. 5, and joining them over the hole in the floor in the manner shown in Fig. 6.
[Illustration:
+------------------------+ | ............| |............| | | | +------------------------+
Fig. 5.--Carpenter's Puzzle--The Problem.]
[Illustration:
+----------------------+----------+ | _____________| | | | | +--------+------------------------+
Fig. 6.--Carpenter's Puzzle--The Solution.]
THE DIVIDED FARM.
This is a still more complicated puzzle of the same description. It is the last of the sort we shall give, but many more of a like character may be constructed. A Frenchman died leaving five sons, among whom he had expressed a wish to divide his farm, on which ten trees grew, so that they all might live together in the house (represented by the dark square in the diagrams), and so that each might have an equal share of land, of a similar shape, each share having two trees growing upon it. Fig. 7 shows the land before it was divided; the lines in Fig. 8 show how the fences were put up when the old man's wish had been carried out.
[Illustration:
+---------------+ | * * | | | | * * * | | +---+ | | * | X | * * | | +---+ | | * * | +---------------+
Fig. 7.--The Undivided Farm.]
[Illustration:
+-------+-------+ | * | * | | +---+---+ | | * | * | * | +---+---+ +---+ | * | X | * | * | | +---+---+ | | * | * | +-------+-------+
Fig. 8.--The Divided Farm.]
THE VERTICAL LINE PUZZLE.
This puzzle is very old; but, although simple, is very good. It may be treated either as a mechanical or as an arithmetical puzzle. Place six narrow strips of cardboard of equal length in a row, and add five other pieces in such a way that the whole form nine only. The result is shown in the second row of lines, the added pieces being represented by the dotted lines (Fig. 9). This puzzle may be said to be only a play upon words, but in most puzzles there is some catch.
[Illustration:
|* | | |* | |* * * | * | | | * | | | * | | | * | |* * * | * | | | * | | | *| | | *| |* * *
Fig. 9.--The Vertical Line Puzzle.]
THE STRING AND BALLS PUZZLE.
Get a thin piece of wood, bone, or ivory, of the shape shown in the annexed figure (Fig. 10); bore in it three holes--one at each end, and one in the middle. Pass a piece of string or twine through the middle hole, leaving a loop, as shown; on each side of the string thread a ball or ring, and fasten the two ends of the string with knots at the holes at the end of the piece of wood. The puzzle is, without removing the string from the holes or without untying the knots, to get both balls or rings to the same side of the central loop instead of on opposite sides. The following is the solution of the puzzle:--Draw the central loop of the string well down, and slip through it either one or other of the balls until it reaches the back of the central hole; then pull the loop through the hole, and pass the ball through the _two_ loops that will thus be formed; draw the string back through the hole as before, and the ball may easily be passed to that part of the string on which the other ball has been strung. This plan of passing the loop through the central hole is a key to all the puzzles of this nature. Such puzzles appear under various names, but they may all be solved if the key to this puzzle of the Balls and String is borne in mind.
[Illustration: Fig. 10.--String and Balls Puzzle.]
A somewhat similar, although more complicated puzzle, is that known as
THE PUZZLING RINGS.
This name, by the way, describes the puzzle, but it has been so many times christened, that no list of names could claim to be a complete list. The puzzle is smart and neat, but the parts have to be so nicely fitted, that it would not be easy for an amateur to make it. It may be purchased at a small cost at any toy-shop. The following is its description:--In a flat board of wood, bone, or metal are a certain number of holes--more or less, according to the size of the puzzle. In each hole a wire is loosely fixed, beaten out into a head at one end, to prevent the wire slipping through the hole; and the other end is fastened to a ring, which is also loose. Each wire has been passed through the ring of the next wire previously to its own ring being fastened on; and through the whole of the rings runs a wire hoop or bow, which also contains, within its oblong space, all the wires to which the rings are fastened, the whole presenting so complicated an appearance as to make the releasing the rings from the bow seem to be an impossibility. The puzzle, nevertheless, is to take off the rings.
[Illustration: Fig. 11.--The Seven-ring Puzzle.]
The following is the plan to be followed:--The instructions given are for removing the rings from a _seven-ring puzzle_ (Fig. 11), that being the simplest form in which the puzzle is made; but it should be noted for general guidance that if an even number of rings are on the bow, the first and second are to be brought down together; if odd, the first one only. To proceed:--Take the hoop in the left hand, and hold the puzzle so that the first ring to be taken off is at the end farthest away from that hand. Draw down the first ring from the bow, and drop it _down_ through the bow, so that it may be between the board and the bow; proceed similarly with the third ring; replace the first, by passing it _up_ through the bow; bring it (the first) to the end of the bow, bearing in mind that the wires supporting the rings must be perpendicular between the two sides thereof; bring down the rings 1 and 2 together; then bring down No. 5; take up 1 and 2 together; bring down 1; take up 3 and 1; bring down 1 and 2 together; bring down 4; take up 1 and 2; bring down 1 and 3; take up 1; bring down 1 and 2 together; and bring down 7; which completes the seven-ring puzzle.
[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Balls and Rings Puzzle.--a, Plan; b, Side View.]
To put the rings on again:--Put on 1 and 2; bring down 1; take up 3; and then 1; bring down 1; and so on, always taking up the first or outward rings.
The seven-ring puzzle is, as already stated, the simplest of these puzzles, as the ten-ring puzzle is usually the most complicated. To perform the ten-ring puzzle it has been computed requires no less than 681 moves. The instructions given above apply equally well to both, if only the note as to an odd or even number of rings to be removed is remembered.
The puzzle of the _Balls and Rings_ (Fig. 12) has points of similarity with the above, and also with that of the _string and balls_ puzzle. The _balls and rings_ puzzle is very ingenious, and should be asked for at the toy-shop. It consists of a round frame of mahogany, about two inches in width and a quarter of an inch thick. In this frame, and at regular intervals, are holes, between which are placed, on the one side of the frame, rings, and on the other side, balls. The rings and balls are made fast with a cord, which passes through each ring and each ball, and also through all the holes in the frame, the ends of the cord being tied in a cross. The puzzle is to reverse the position of both the rings and the balls from one side of the frame to the other.
As indicated in the _String and Balls_ puzzle, the key to this and similar puzzles is to be found in a loop of string, which is usually concealed in some part of the puzzle. The loop should be pulled out or through the wood, and passed over the ball nearest to it; the solution of the puzzle will then be apparent.
THE STAFF PUZZLE, THE VICTORIA PUZZLE, AND THE ARTILLERY PUZZLE.
These are all ingenious puzzles of this class, introduced by Mr. Cremer, of Regent Street, who issues the keys for the solution of the puzzles with the toys.
THE SIX ROWS PUZZLE.
Place twelve counters in six rows in such a manner that there shall be four counters in each row. Fig. 13 shows how the puzzle is solved.
[Illustration: Fig. 13.--The Six Rows Puzzle.]
THE SIX SQUARE PUZZLE.
Place twelve counters on a piece of slate or cardboard, so that they would be at the angles of six squares, as shown in M, in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 14). The puzzle then is to take away three counters, so that the remaining nine counters shall describe three squares only. The solution is shown in N, Fig. 14. The twelve counters form the six squares A, B, C, D, E, F, whereas upon the counters 1, 2, and 12 being removed the squares C, D, and E only are left.
[Illustration:
M 1 2 3 4 3 4 *---*---*---* N *---* | A | B | C | 6 | C | 5 *---*---*---*8 5 *---*---*---*8 | D | E | F | | D | E | *---*---*---* *---*---* 9 10 11 12 9 10 11
Fig. 14.--The Six Square Problem--The Problem (m) and the Solution (n).]
[Transcriber's Note: For clarity, counters 6 and 7 are not labeled in board "M," and counter 7 is not labeled in board "N."]
THE MAGIC OCTAGON.
Out of a piece of stiff cardboard, cut four of each of the three designs shown in Fig. 15, A, and so join them together that they form an octagon figure. The pieces numbered 1 are to be fitted together in the centre, the pieces 2 and 3 being placed alternately round the pieces numbered 1, after those pieces have been fitted together (Fig. 15, B).
[Illustration: Fig. 15.--The Magic Octagon--a, The Pieces; b, The Octagon.]
THE ACCOMMODATING SQUARE.
Cut out eight squares of cardboard; divide four of them into halves, cutting them from corner to corner, so that there are in all twelve pieces. The puzzle is to form a square with the twelve pieces. It is to be done as shown in the accompanying plan. The four squares and the eight triangular pieces are numbered respectively 1 to 4 and 5 to 12 (Fig. 16).