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.
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.
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.
Fig. 2.—The Bridge of Knives.