The Pencil Puzzle

Sam Loyd

(See drawing.)

Before looking at the solution, try to get the pencil out of the buttonhole without untying the string. It appears impossible to free the pencil and string. You may not cut or break the string or pencil. It is possible to remove the pencil with the string still attached.

How Do You Make This Puzzle?

Lay the 25-cm-long piece of string double and thread it through a jacket buttonhole.
Thread the ends of the string through the loop and pull the string taut.
Thread one end of the string through the hole in the pencil and tie it to the other end.
Try to get the pencil out of the buttonhole.

Solution

The loop is too small for the pencil to go through. Therefore, the material around the buttonhole has to be gathered up and pushed through the loop. The pencil can then be pushed up through the buttonhole.

When you know the solution, it is possible to fix the pencil in the buttonhole with the string already attached. Just work through the solution in reverse order.

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