Bridges with Knives
THE CHALLENGE
You have three identical water glasses and three identical regular dinner knives. Place the three glasses so their rims are just slightly farther apart than the length of a knife. Your challenge is, without moving the glasses, to place the knives on the rims of the three glasses so that they form a solid structure capable of supporting a salt shaker at any point (if it could balance) and which connects the three glasses.
Notes
THE CHALLENGE
The key is to interlace the blades of the three knives in the center between the glasses. The handles will rest on the rims of the glasses, and the blades will meet in a weave pattern that is mutually supportive. The illustration below is not quite right – the tip of each knife blade should rest on top of the next knife. Try it – this structure is surprisingly strong!
