My Science School

The oldest known mathematical puzzle is a dissection puzzle mentioned in a treaty dating back to 250 BC, known as Archimedes’ Stomachion (or Ostomachion, or Syntemachion). Greek mathematician Archimedes described in detail, piece by piece, a dissection of a square into 14 pieces to which there are 536 distinct solutions. It is also known as Archimedes’ Box or Loculus of Archimedes.

It is likely that Archimedes would have challenged others to try and fit all the pieces of the Stomachion back into the original square shape. Other possible uses may have included assembling the pieces into familiar shapes such as animals or birds. 

If you spend some time playing around with the Stomachion, you will soon release that there are several different ways of reassembling the puzzle back into the square. Mathematicians started to wonder how many distinct solutions there are. A distinct solution means that it is not just a rotation or a reflection of a previous solution. In 2003 Joe Marasco offered $100 for the first person to come up with an answer.  Bill Cutler soon claimed that prize with his solution of 536 distinct possible arrangements.

Picture Credit : Google