Henry Ernest Dudeney/Modern Puzzles/217 - The Five Squares/Solution

Modern Puzzles by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $217$

The Five Squares

$12$ matches are arranged to form $4$ squares.

Rearrange the same matches (so they lie flat on the table) to make $5$ squares.

All the squares must be empty.

Solution

Keep the same basic arrangement, but make it so that the $4$ matches that meet at the centre have their non-head ends together.

Then you can move them so their ends look like this when you zoom in really closely:

See, there is a square there, but it's really, really tiny.

Sources

• 1926: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Modern Puzzles ... (previous) ... (next): Solutions: $217$. -- The Five Squares
• 1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Answers: $500$. The Five Squares