This seems to be quite a poor attempt at a Maltese cross, but there is method in the madness of its make.
It is possible by two straight cuts to divide this uneven cross into four pieces which can be arranged together again so that they form a perfect square. Where must the cuts be made, and how are the four pieces rearranged?
BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT
We all remember that splendidly terse message of success sent home to the authorities by Napier when he had conquered the armies of Scinde—“Peccavi!” (I have sinned).
History had an excellent opportunity for repeating itself when Admiral Dewey defeated the Spaniel fleet, for he might have conveyed the news of his victory by the one burning word—“Cantharides”—“The Spanish fly!”
No. CVI—SHIFTING THE CELLS
In the diagram below a square is subdivided into twenty-five cells.
