Mechanical puzzle

A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces in which the solution is to manipulate the whole object or parts of it. While puzzles of this type have been in use by humanity as early as the 3rd century BC, one of the most well-known mechanical puzzles of modern day is the Rubik's Cube, invented by the Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik in 1974. The puzzles are typically designed for a single player, where the goal is for the player to see through the principle of the object, rather than accidentally coming up with the right solution through trial and error. With this in mind, they are often used as an intelligence test or in problem solving training. The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consists of a square divided into 14 parts, and the aim was to create different shapes from these pieces. This is not easy to do. (see Ostomachion loculus Archimedius) In Iran "puzzle-locks" were made as early as the 17th century AD. The next known occurrence of puzzles is in Japan. In 1742 there is a mention of a game called "Sei Shona-gon Chie No-Ita" in a book. Around the year 1800 the Tangram puzzle from China became popular, and 20 years later it had spread through Europe and America. The company Richter from Rudolstadt began producing large amounts of Tangram-like puzzles of different shapes, the so-called "Anker-puzzles" in about 1891. In 1893, Angelo John Lewis, using the pen name "Professor Hoffman", wrote a book called Puzzles; Old and New. It contained, among other things, more than 40 descriptions of puzzles with secret opening mechanisms. This book grew into a reference work for puzzle games and modern copies exist for those interested. The beginning of the 20th century was a time in which puzzles were greatly fashionable and the first patents for puzzles were recorded. With the invention of modern polymers manufacture of many puzzles became easier and cheaper.