Snake escape puzzle solution published by The Guardian
The Story
The Guardian published a puzzle asking readers to design two escape passages for snakes of equal width but different lengths, and later provided the solution. Passage A requires a loop longer than the short snake but shorter than the long one, causing the long snake to block itself. Passage B uses a floor hole that only the long snake can cross due to its length and assumed non-zero rigidity.
Key Facts
- The puzzle involved two snakes of equal width, one long and one short, in a cage.
- Passage A must have a loop longer than the short snake but shorter than the long one.
- In Passage A, the long snake cannot pass where the tube meets itself because its own body blocks the way; the short snake does not have that problem.
- Passage B requires the passage to go through a hole in the floor that the short snake cannot move over without falling in, but the long snake can.
- The puzzle assumes snakes have circular cross-sections of constant diameter and cannot squeeze through passages narrower than their width.
- The source of the puzzle is credited to Kvantik Magazine 2014.
Conflicting Reports
No conflicting reports identified in the source article.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
No specific individuals named in the source article.
Sources: The Guardian
