Puzzle Prime - Puzzle Prime

Donald “Rusty” Rust

Section: Article Category: Interview

Donald “Rusty” Rust is an American artist who has created over 15000 paintings in a variety of styles. Even though he is famous mostly for his pin-up artwork, his optical illusions are some of our all-time favorites. In this special interview, he shares with us his thoughts on painting, op art, and everything which drives him forward in his long and successful career. If you like Rusty’s artwork, you can order some of it through his official store on Etsy.

Interview

Q. Hello Rusty. This is such an interesting nickname. I assume it is derived from your last name?

A. Having been born with red hair and having the name, Rust, made the nickname, “Rusty”, come easily!

Q. How did you get into painting? Was it a hard choice to devote your life to being an artist?

A. My painting career probably began one day when my grandfather, who was an artist, looked at a small drawing I had done. I must have been four or five years of age. He put me on his lap and took a drawing pencil, which he firmly pressed onto my drawing, showing me how to make my drawing more effective. Of course, that comes with confidence, something I did not yet have. My school years found me doing most of the posters within the school. After graduation, I learned that painting signs could supply enough income, so, that went on until I was about forty-nine years old. Then, I began doing portraits, which eventually led to other subject matter. No more sign painting!

Q. Apart from your grandfather, which other famous artists have inspired and influenced you?

A. Well-known pinup artist, Gil Elvgren, did work I admired. His guidance and help played a big part in the quality of my work. Bobby Toombs, Gil’s apprentice, also offered a great deal of help.

Q. Art trends have been changing a lot throughout the years. What do you think of contemporary art and how do you compare it with the more traditional art forms?

A. Times change and I welcome new ideas and styles of painting. Years ago, artists did not have projectors, air-brushes and digital images that could be altered with a click of a mouse. Always interesting!

*Ambiguous optical illusion by Donald Rust*

Q. You have been creating all kinds of compositions – pin-up girls, landscapes, portraits, illusions… What is the reason to be so versatile and what type of work are you currently focused on?

A. I’ve been versatile, mainly because I continually look for subject matter that “catches on”. Everything I tried provided a variety. My studies were geared primarily toward realistic painting. Over the years, my interests have changed. Now, I am doing more fantasy-type work, which allows for more creativity and originality.

Q. What is your secret for creating such amazing optical illusions? Do you first start with the hidden image and then try to conceal it, or first draw the main picture and then incorporate the illusion inside?

A. I have no formula for the creation of illusion images. My main concern is to mislead or trick the viewer. A good example of that is my painting, “The Hidden Tiger”, which was done when camouflage art was so popular. Viewers were accustomed to searching for an animal or something that is hidden within the scene. They could not find the hidden tiger. I had tricked them by hiding the lettering, “THE HIDDEN TIGER”, which was the stripes on the tiger. Sometimes, it is necessary to turn the image upside down to see the solution.

Q. Sounds like it requires lots of preparation and inventiveness. How much effort and time does it take to create such optical illusions, starting from the concept up until the finished product?

A. Some paintings can be done in a short length of time, while others take longer. Often, more time is spent on planning than painting. I’m usually regarded as a rather fast painter, but I spend several hours on research and planning. I try to incorporate the elements of good art… things like ideas, drawing accuracy, composition, tonal planning. color, etc.

Q. Finally, what are your hobbies and what do you like to do in your free time?

A. My free time is roaming the jungles of Florida and getting good photos of scenic and wildlife subject matter. Those photos are often used as a reference for my paintings.

Q. Sounds like a terrific pastime! Thank you for the interview Rusty. Wee don’t want to take any more of your jungle exploration time.

A. Thank you, Puzzle Prime.

Puzzle Prime August 16, 2018

0 Comments

Smart Eggs

Section: Review Category: Toy

Review

Smart Eggs are maze type puzzles created by the Hungarian inventor Andras Zagyvai. The basic idea is to navigate a plastic stick from the top of an egg to its bottom, pushing, pulling and moving the stick around various holes and tunnels carved in it.

The original six 1-layer Smart Eggs are extremely simple to solve and targeted towards very young children. There is only one natural path the stick can take, and you simply have to follow it. The eggs are also fairly small and initially may look a bit underwhelming. The designs, however, are beautiful, and the construction is solid. Despite the low difficulty level and lack of hard challenges, the 1-layer Smart Eggs are fun to play and fidget with, both for kids and adults. Collecting them all results in a wonderful shelf collection.

The 2-layer Smart Eggs are the bigger, better, harder version of the original 1-layer Smart Eggs. The goal remains the same – navigate a stick from the top of the egg to its bottom. The collection consists of three Dragon Eggs – blue, red, and black, listed according to their difficulty level. The first thing which makes impression is the beautiful art – on every egg there are three dragons depicted, no two of them the same. These toys have much higher quality than the original Smart Eggs – they are around twice the size, come with metal sticks, plastic stands, and much more intricate designs. Inside every egg there is a core which can rotate and also slide up and down, creating many possibilities for the stick’s movement. Even though the blue egg is fairly straightforward to solve, the red and the black ones can pose a real challenge. The 2-layer Smart Eggs have high replay value, and you will probably find yourself coming regularly back to them. They are fun, smart, and highly recommended puzzles.

6-8 years and up
1-layer and 2-layer options
various beautiful designs

GET SMART EGGS HERE

Puzzle Prime August 1, 2018

0 Comments

Kurzgesagt

Section: Article Category: Discovery

Constant learning is important, but often times a very boring process. To tackle this issue, the guys from Kurzgesagt have started releasing new, engaging, educational videos every few weeks. Some of the puzzling topics they cover are A.I. (artificial intelligence), finance, the Big Bang, and many others. Both the quality of the production and the content itself are very high, so we recommend all of our friends to watch these videos.

So, do not waste time and go check Kurzgesagt’s website by clicking the image below, or simply visit the official YouTube channel.

Puzzle Prime July 16, 2018

1 Comment

FLEB

Section: Article Category: Interview

FLEB is a passionate puzzler and a popular YouTuber. To his YouTube audience, he regularly presents various interesting puzzles he has collected over the years. FLEB is a former TOP10 finisher in the US Puzzle Championships and also a regular participant in the MIT Mystery Hunt. Recently, he released his first puzzle video game – RYB. You can see FLEB’s favorite puzzles on his official YouTube channel.

Interview

Q. Hi FLEB! Is this your real name? If not, where does it come from and what does it mean?

A. Hi, my real name is Paul Hlebowitsh. At MIT, people oftentimes call each other by their Kereberos (computer system) usernames. Mine was “phleb”, which when pronounced sound like FLEB! That’s where that comes from.

Q. When and how did you get into puzzles?

A. When I was young, I would often check out books on brainteasers and puzzles. I was a big fan of the “Encyclopedia Brown” books and there was a series of “Clue” books that were similar. When I was in high school, I was lucky enough to know some people who were involved with the MIT Mystery Hunt and I was able to solve it remotely through the internet with their team!

Q. Talking about the MIT Mystery Hunts, what is the name of your team? How did you choose your teammates?

A. The small puzzle team I hunt with is mostly friends of mine from college, who also got into puzzles. We use a bunch of different names, but the most recent one was “The Sweatiest Tryhards”.

The big Mystery Hunt team that I’m a part of is called “Death and Mayhem”, which started way before I joined it. It’s the merger of two teams “Death From Above” and “Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem”. I joined “Death From Above” around 2008, but it was around for a long time before that. I’m not sure where the name comes from!

FLEB’s favorite puzzles

Q. How many puzzles do you have in your collection?

A. Oh gosh, I’m not sure. Probably close to a thousand, but I haven’t counted. I know I own around a hundred Hanayama puzzles alone!

Q. That’s a lot, we definitely need to catch up here! Do you remember the first puzzle you ever got?

A. My first puzzle was a Rubik’s cube, which my parents bought me for my birthday when I was young. It’s a good one to start with!

Q. Which is your favorite mechanical puzzle?

A. For my wedding, a bunch of my puzzle designer friends built me a custom 4’x2’x2′ puzzlebox, which is simultaneously the biggest puzzle I’ve ever had to solve, along with the most complicated. It includes a working telephone which plays messages after you’ve solved individual puzzles!

Q. Sounds very inventive. And what about your favorite brain teaser, or game?

A. For brainteasers, I think I’m going to cheat this question a little bit and choose a collection. I think “What is the Name of this Book?” has the best brainteasers out of any book I’ve seen. They’re all in the “liars and truth-tellers” types of brainteaser, but he slowly guides you to answering ones about people who answer randomly and in a language you don’t understand.

When it comes down to games, I really like “The Talos Principle”. I think that’s the best puzzle game I’ve ever played. Then I think it’d be “The Witness”, “Linelight”, “The Room”, and “Hexcells” in some order.

Q. You are a TOP 10 finisher in the US Puzzle Championship, which is a great achievement. What does your preparation for puzzle championships look like? Do you have any tips for others who are getting into competitive puzzle solving?

A. Mostly it involves creating and solving puzzles. If you want to get into competitive logic puzzle solving, one of the most important aspects is learning how to create logic puzzles! Creating puzzle is a great way to understand new logic puzzle types.

Q. How did you decide to start making youtube videos? Did you expect to make your channel so popular?

A. I wanted to share my joy of puzzles with others! I didn’t expect it would be so popular at all!

Q. What are your future plans for it?

A. I’d love to cover more aspects of puzzles in the future, such as puzzle history and design, but I’d also like to cover some brainteasers and more puzzlehunt puzzles.

Q. We are looking forward to this. What other hobbies do you have, apart from solving puzzles and playing board games?

A. I really like Rocket League! I’m terrible at it, but it’s fun. In the fall, I also love college football. Almost every Saturday during the fall I watch a game or two!

Q. As a last question, what would you recommend to our readers, which want to improve their overall analytic and problem solving skills?

A. Puzzles are a great way to get entertainment!

Q. We completely agree with that. Thank you for the interview, FLEB.

A. Happy puzzling Puzzle Prime!

Puzzle Prime July 13, 2018

0 Comments

Engineering Jokes

Section: Article Category: Curiosity

Who says science jokes are not funny? Below you can see some of the best Engineering jokes we know, along with short explanations to the more obscure of them.

Do you know any funny Engineering jokes yourself? Let us know in the comment section below.

The optimist sees the glass as half full.
The pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
The engineer sees the glass as twice as big as it needs to be.

A graduate with a Science degree asks, “Why does it work?”
A graduate with an Engineering degree asks, “How does it work?”
A graduate with an Accounting degree asks, “How much will it cost?”
A graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, “Would you like an apple pie with that?”

Explanation
Liberal Arts generally tend to get lower salaries than other majors.

“What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?”
“Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets.”

Explanation
Civil Engineers are occupied with constructing various buildings. A dark humor joke.
Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.

An electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and software engineer are on their way to a trade show when their car stalls and they are forced to pull over to the side of the road.
The mechanical engineer says, “It’s probably a mechanical problem. I’ll get my tool-box out of the trunk and I can fix it.”
The electrical engineer says, “No, I’ll bet it’s an electrical problem. I have my multimeter with me and I’ll go check it out.”
Finally, the software engineer says, “I have the solution! Let’s all get out of the car and then get back in. I’ll bet we’ll be back on the road in no time.”

Explanation
Rebooting is usually one of the first things to do when you have a software issue.

An engineering student designed a robot who would take his exams for him.
The other designed a robot who could cheat off the first robot.

“What do engineers use for birth control?”
“Their personality.”
One day an engineer was crossing a road, when a frog called out to him and said, “If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a beautiful princess.”
He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket.
The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week.” The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket.
The frog then cried out, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I’ll stay with you and do anything you want!” Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket.
Finally, the frog asked, “What is the matter? I’ve told you I’m a beautiful princess, that I’ll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won’t you kiss me?” The engineer said, “Look I’m an engineer. I don’t have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, that’s cool.”

“How can you tell an outgoing engineer?”
“He looks at your shoes when he’s talking, instead of his own.”

An engineer dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, “Ah, you’re an engineer, you’re in the wrong place.” So the engineer reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After a while, they’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators, and the engineer is becoming a pretty popular guy. One day God calls Satan up on the telephone and asks with a sneer, “So, how’s it going down there in hell?” Satan replies, “Hey, things are going great. We’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators, and there’s no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next.” God replies, “What? You’ve got an engineer? That’s a mistake, he should never have gotten down there, send him up here.” Satan says, “No way! I like having an engineer on the staff, and I’m keeping him.” God says, “Send him back up here or I’ll sue.” Satan laughs uproariously and answers, “Yeah right. And just where are you going to get a lawyer?”

Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, ”Where did you get such a great bike?”
The second engineer replied, “Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, “Take what you want.”
The first engineer nodded approvingly, “Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit.”

Three men were sentenced to be executed by guillotine – a priest, a Muslim, and an engineer.
First was the priest and he asked that he face upwards so he could look at Heaven and his Creator. His wish was granted and the blade fell but stopped 1/2 inch from his neck. The executioner said that since the guillotine spared him, his life was spared as well, and he was allowed to leave.
Next was the Muslim and he asked that he also be allowed to face upwards to look to Allah before his death. Again the guillotine stopped just short and his life was spared as well.
The engineer was last and he too asked to face upwards given what happened with the first two. As he lay there, he looked up at the mechanism and said, “Aha, I see the problem!”.

An architect, an artist, and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with their wives or mistresses.
The architect said, “I like spending time with my wife building a firm foundation of a marriage.”
The artist said, “I enjoy the time I spend with my mistress because of all the passion and energy.”
The engineer said “I enjoy both. If you have a wife and a mistress, both women think you are with the other so you can go to work get more done.”

Puzzle Prime July 4, 2018

0 Comments

The Master Theorem

Section: Article Category: Discovery

In case you have never heard about “the secret society of puzzle solvers” at The Master Theorem, then get ready to face about 50 of the most creative, challenging and original puzzles you can find on the web. Even though the website rarely has been updated in the last few years, it can offer tens of hours of problem solving to all newcomers. In order to sign up and explore everything TMT has to offer, you must first complete one of the numerous puzzles posted there. An easy one you can start with is “Old McDonald”, which can be solved using this… SPOILER.

Puzzle Prime June 17, 2018

0 Comments

Every Song

Section: Brain Teasers Category: Insight

Difficulty: Medium

John: “I know every song in the World.”

Paul: “It can’t be. I bet you don’t know any songs which contain the name of my daughter – Beatrice.”

John accepted the bet and won. Which song did he sing?

SOLUTION

John performed the “Happy Birthday” song.

Puzzle Prime May 26, 2018

0 Comments

Geography Jokes

Section: Article Category: Curiosity

Who says science jokes are not funny? Below you can see some of the best Geography jokes we know, along with short explanations to the more obscure of them.

Do you know any funny Geography jokes yourself? Let us know in the comment section below.

“How did the geography student drown?”
“His grades were below C-level.”

Explanation
Grades in some countries are marked with letters – A, B, C, etc. “C-level” is a word play with “sea level”.

“Where do all pencils come from?”
“Pennsylvania.”

Explanation
Transylvania in Romania is supposedly the place where all vampires come from.

A giant destroyed 3 countries the other day. He picked up Turkey, dipped it in Greece, and then fried it in Japan.

Explanation
The joke sounds like “A giant destroyed 3 countries the other day. He picked up a turkey, dipped it in grease, and then fried it in a pan.”

“What is smarter – longitude or latitude?”
“Longitude – it has 360 degrees.”

Explanation
Latitude has 180 degrees in total, longitude has 360.

“Why do paper maps never win poker tournaments?”
“Because they always fold.”

Explanation
In poker folding is forfeiting the current hand.

“What do fish and maps have in common?”
“They both have scales.”

“What is round on the ends and high in the middle?”
“Ohio.”

Explanation
O-hi-o is a state in the US.

“Where is it 90 degrees, but it is never hot?”
“The North and the South pole.”

Explanation
The North and South poles are located on +90 and -90 degrees latitude.

“What did Delaware?”
“A New Jersey.”

Explanation
Delaware and New Jersey are US states. The joke sounds like “What Dela wear? A new jersey.”

“What do you call the little rivers which flow into the Nile?”
“Juveniles.”

“What sort of pudding roams wild in the Arctic circle?”
“Moose.”

Explanation
Moose (sounds like the dessert mousse) can be seen in the arctic circle.

“What did the sea say to the shore?”
“Nothing, it just waved.”

“Where do fish keep their money?”
“In riverbanks.”

Explanation
River bank is the land alongside the bed of a river.

“What do you call a country that looks like one thigh?”
“Taiwan.”

Explanation
Taiwan sounds like “thigh-one”.

“What do you call a stoner’s wife?”
“Mississippi.”

Explanation
The river Mississippi sounds like “Mrs Hippy”.

“What city always cheats at exams?”
“Peking.”

Explanation
Peking, the capital of China, sounds like “peeking”.

“Which is the pirates’ favorite country?”
“Aaarrrgghhentina!”

Explanation
“Aaarrrgghh!” is a famous pirate’s exclamation.

“Why does the Boogeyman know all the map symbols?”
“Because he is a legend.”

Explanation
The legend on the map describes the meanings of all symbols.

Puzzle Prime May 6, 2018

3 Comments

Monday Punday

Section: Article Category: Discovery

We have always believed puns are fun, but never thought they could be so challenging. Matthew Broussard, a comedian, has made hundreds of them for his website Monday Punday. Every Monday Matthew adds new puzzle pun, which you can try to solve and check your answer. Just make sure you don’t give up the solution, because he really does not like that. Visit Monday Punday by clicking the image below.

Puzzle Prime May 4, 2018

0 Comments

Ouverture Facile

Section: Article Category: Discovery

In case you enjoyed our exciting puzzle stories, you may want to try some other similar browser puzzles. One of our favorites is “Ouverture Facile” (“Easy Opening” from French), consisting of over 90 different levels. Test your puzzle skills by clicking the image below and see how far you can get. After you finish with Ouverture Facile, you can check also “Notpron”, “God Tower”, “Weffriddles”, and “The Python Challenge”.

Puzzle Prime April 29, 2018

0 Comments