Nifty layout puzzle.

[Upscale]

Ok, I can't argue against that. :)

[Paul Kierstead]

Just in case it wasn't obvious to everyone, I just like to point out there is *no* real world solution; since both boards have the same surface area (288 sq.in.), and all saws have some kerf, you can't cut the board even once and expect the same surface area unless you recover the sawdust, mix it with resin or something and glue it back on (an interesting idea, but not in the spirit of the rules).

Given that, I think lacking a perfect 90 degree turn doesn't really matter.

[Doug Miller]

So cut it with a knife. Sheesh.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[alexy]

Looks pretty trivial. My answer is the same as Doug's, recognizing that the loss due to saw kerf is not part of this idealized problem.

A non-trivial version of this puzzle is the following: You have a

10'x10' piece of carpet and a 1'x8' piece of carpet. Cut one of these two carpet pieces into two pieces (with no losses), and use the resulting three pieces to carpet a 9'x12' room.

[Leon]

Or plunge cut with a skill saw or jig saw.

[Dimarela]

I can do it with two cuts but not yet with one

[Leon]

I made that mistake also. You can have as many cuts as you like as long as you only end up with 2 pieces.

[Prometheus]

Cut into peice "x" and peice "o" as below

|o|xx| |o|xx| |o|xx| |o|xx| |oo|x| |oo|x| |oo|x| |oo|x|

Rejoin like this:

|x x| |x x| |x x| |x x| |o|x| |o|x| |o|x| |o|x| |o o| |o o| |o o| |o o|

So, do I win a shiny new tool? :)

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

[John Keeney]

That's three pieces instead of the required two.

[John Keeney]

You mustn't let details/reality like that interfere with solving a thought problem.

[John Keeney]

Hmm, if the board is thin enough (say, 1/16th cork) can we get there with a knife?

[Leon]

Yeah, like several others, I read that as 2 cuts and not pieces the first time around. ;~)