The 15 Puzzle
by Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld
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Until very recently, the 15 Puzzle had almost everything that
makes a puzzle a human adventure and a memorable human heritage
item.
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It is simple: the rules
can be explained to a toddler. When it appeared in 1879 as The
Gem Puzzle, the 15 Puzzle was accompanied by a cryptic
instruction: Place the blocks in the box irregularly, then
move until in regular order.
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It has an exciting history: no other puzzle in history
(not the famous Rubik's cube, nor the more recent Sudoku) spread
across America and the rest of the world at such speed and arose
such a wave of passion bordering on mass craze.
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It has a variety: the number of possible configurations is
tremendous and, in addition, the original numbers can be replaced
with pieces of a picture or letters that comprise a meaningful
sentence.
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There is an exciting piece of mathematics behind it: the theory
of permutations
- transpositions and inversions - sheds light on solvability of
any particular configuration. The theory leads to a more general
playground of puzzles
on graphs.
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The puzzle expands one's imagination: it is usually played on a
flat surface. It can be
placed on a cylinder or even a Möbius
strip without changing the rules, but adding a degree of
excitement.
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It has a distinguished pedigree: the attribution is built right
into its common name. To many the puzzle is known as Sam
Loyd's Fifteen, being an invention of the most prolific and
most famous of all American puzzlists, the famous Sam
Loyd.
A new book by Jerry
Slocum and Dic Sonneveld adds intrigue to the picture: as
the authors have found, Sam Loyd has not invented the puzzle, but
managed to fool the contemporaries and the following generations
into believing otherwise. It took five quarters of a century for the
truth to be revealed. By painstakingly wading through thousands of
newspapers found in dozens of locations throughout the United States
and Europe, the authors uncovered the true origins of the puzzle and
its winding itinerary to the market and into the history.
The book itself is of the gift quality, well written and
exquisitely illustrated. The text is authenticated with photographs
and newspaper clips. Interspersed among bits and pieces related to
the puzzle, many illustrations build up the historic background and
help recreate and sense the cultural atmosphere of the last two
decades of the 19th century.
The book is comprehensive. The first chapter of 50 pages (the
largest in the book) follows the puzzle for a few months from its
appearance in December 1879 through the beginning of the craze in
February 1880 through its unstoppable spread from coast to coast by
March 1880. The timeline of the craze has been documented and
summarized in three tables (puzzle first appearance by city, puzzle
ads in national periodicals, international ads and articles). The
text highlights the entries with additional details.
The first chapter also documents the early attempts at the
solution of the puzzle.
This follows by the review of the puzzle literature (Chapter 2)
and research into the origins of the puzzle (Chapters 3-6). The
quality of the scholarly research is next to impeccable; its
significance is overwhelming.
Chapter 7 presents the theory of the puzzle from three different
angles. Chapter 8 complements the first chapter with a fascinating
collection of comic poems devoted to the puzzle and newspaper
stories from around the world. Were Solvers of the Fifteen
Puzzle Driven Insane? Oh, yes. Many indeed were. An endearing
collection of newspaper clips leaves little doubt of the often fatal
effect the puzzle had on human minds. As an example that also points
at the extent of the interest in the puzzle, from the Bangor
Daily Whig and Courier (Maine):
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George Mitchell, a painter, was arrested
last night in San Francisco. He had become insane over the
'fifteen' puzzle and covered the floor and walls with figures
in the attempt to solve it. |
Chapter 9 describes the lasting impact the Fifteen Puzzle had on
the puzzle making industry.
The book will be of keen interest to a puzzle lover, a student of
the late 19th century history and anybody fascinated with
psychology of popular delusions. It is a bewitching sequel to Charles
Mackay's rarity.
The
15 Puzzle, J. Slocum and D. Sonneveld, Hardcover, 144 pp,
$30.00. ISBN 1-890980-15-3.
Copyright © 1996-2009 Alexander
Bogomolny |