Did you solve it? The simple geometry problem that fools almost everyone

Did you solve it? The simple geometry problem that fools almost everyone
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Did you solve it? The simple geometry problem that fools almost everyone
Author: Alex Bellos
Published: Feb, 17 2025 17:00

Summary at a Glance

i) Divide a square into five rectangles such that no two rectangles share an entire side in common – i.e.

The side length is 11, so there must be four sets of two side lengths that add up to 11.

The other two sides add up to 8, so these two sides will lie on top of the horizontal line.

i) You can change the size of the rectangles, and flip the ones around the side to go the other way, but this is the only pattern that works.

The reason that most people fail to solve this one is because the triangle is degenerate: it is, actually, a line, not a triangle.

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