Take Me Back Tuesday

I’m not graceful or coordinated, but I can catch a Frisbee (most of the time), and throw it straight on a good day –though I haven’t improved much since I was six-years-old. I’d spend lazy Saturdays planted in my backyard exerting all my energy to concentrate on throwing the Frisbee nice and straight only to make my dad chase it all over the yard (oops!). Years later, I still don’t have a knack for flying Frisbees or know the difference between the scoober, the hammer and the chicken wing throws; but I know a lot about the history of this flying favorite!

So, how did this phenomenon begin? Here is some history on the Frisbee from Frisbeedisc:

The founding of the famous Frisbee began with students who liked to eat pie, specifically Frisbie Pie Company pie in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the 1920s, Yale students discovered that throwing the empty pie tin back and forth was a lot of fun (not to mention resourceful!). But, it wasn’t the ultimate founding moment.

The first plastic flying disk was manufactured in 1948 by Fred Morrison, a California carpenter and building inspector, who marketed his disk under the name Pipco Flyin-Saucer. Due to the American obsession with aliens, Morrison further developed his flying disk in 1957, after joining with toy manufacturer Wham-O, to create the UFO inspired Pluto Platter – the most entertaining “close encounter” at the time.

But wait… don’t forget those crazy kids on the East coast with the pie tins! Adopting the plastic Pluto Platter to replace their rustic Frisbie pie tins, these college students continued to call the flying disk after their favorite pie company – Frisbie. Consequently, Wham-O executives rallied behind the students’ enthusiasm and growing popularity for their product, changing its name to Frisbee – the product we know and love.

Growing in popularity with children and adults of all ages, the Frisbee has stood the test of time and morphed into an unparalleled outdoor/indoor game phenomenon, which has grown to include disc golf, Frisbee tennis, five hundred, keepings off, goaltimate, hot box, and indoor ultimate. Plus, a true testament to this plastic disks popularity, flying disk sports became a part of the World Games in Akita, Japan in 2001.

Though I missed the hype of the early introduction of all things Frisbee, I can look back and appreciate the awesome 80s approach to marketing these hi-flying toys (enjoy – the theme song is an especially nice touch):

Source Citations:
“Frisbee History.” Frisbeedisc. September 4, 2009. http://www.frisbeedisc.com/about/history.html

Quality time with my dad was unforgettable when we played the Mastermind Game – after all, how many people forget the most infuriating and frustrating game of their childhood? To be fair, the main problem when it came to playing Mastermind was my darling dad, who was the most intense and focused brain teaser/strategy “mastermind” imaginable, while I most certainly was not at my young age (talk about an unfair advantage)! Luckily for my young ego, my latent puzzle gene sparked an overwhelming desire to master the game after losing over and over – or it might’ve been my overwhelming desire to finally beat my dad at his own game. Either way, with a little research and a lot of practiced skill, I’m now a lean, mean code machine!

So, how did this puzzler paradise come to be? Here is some history on the Mastermind Game from Wikipedia:

The code-breaking Mastermind Game was invented in 1970 by Mordecai Meirowitz, an Israeli postmaster and telecommunications expert. Meirowitz’s modern peg game was inspired by the earlier pencil and paper game called bulls and cows, in which players tried to break 4-digit number codes instead of 4-unit color codes (personally I’d rather use colors – good thinking Meirowitz!)

In 1971, Meirowitz sold the rights to his thought-provoking code-breaking game to Invicta Plastic located near Leicester, UK. Thankfully for the millions of puzzle lovers across the globe, Invicta Plastic has since licensed Mastermind’s manufacture to Hasbro – a well-known toy and game distributor, to ensure world wide distribution. Players soon found the Mastermind Game intriguing and infuriating – naturally, players searched for the elusive “magic” formula behind the games concept.

The most popular strategic technique used to “break the code” is called the six-guess algorithm. For those of you who have no idea what that means (like me), players use a specific mathematical process of elimination to guess their opponents code in 6 moves. Considering that there are 1296 different patterns that emerge from a 4 peg code created from 6 possible colors, perhaps a mathematical approach would make the game easier. Let’s find out – here is part of the six-guess algorithm to ponder (remember each color is represented A thru F):

• Guess 1 is always “abcd”
• Guess 2 is always “bcde”
• Guess 3 is always “cdef”
• If the list for guess 4 starts with a game on the left side of list below, then use the game to its right instead:
  • “acfb” → “dcad”
  • “aebf” → “edfd”
  • “aefb” → “eacc”
  • “afbe” → “bfcd”
  • “bafe” → “eadc”
  • “beaf” → “edae” (etc…)

Sadly, my ability to comprehend and implement the chart’s concept during game play is a little difficult. And, perhaps my ability to play a successful round of Mastermind is limited to “on again/off again” success at best (especially when I play against my dad), but I do have my own super secret Mastermind moves. Ok, YouTube videos don’t classify as a secret strategy, but at least I finally understand the strategy involved in the game. Here’s the video that taught me how to win (enjoy!):

Source Citations:
“Mastermind (board game).” Wikipedia. September 9, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_game

My reign as a puzzle master ended the day my mom gave me the Rubik’s Cube. She saw it as a challenge for someone of my skill, while I saw it as an unsolvable, infuriating piece of plastic that I’d spend hours every day trying to master. I was intrigued, and annoyed, as I twisted and turned that cube without making an ounce of progress. I may have “accidentally” tossed it across the room once or twice from frustration (like so many puzzlers before me I’m sure!). My experience aside, any toy that has provided a mind-boggling challenge for millions of people since 1974 and sparked countless international competitions, is obviously worth the aggravation.

And, how did this phenomenon begin? Here is some history on the Rubik’s Cube from Wikipedia:

The infamous Rubik’s Cube, formerly known as the “Magic Cube,” was created in 1974 by Erno Rubik in Budapest, Hungary. Rubik, a sculptor and professor of architecture, designed the puzzle as a tool to help his students think about 3D objects in a new way. The first working prototype of the renowned Rubik’s Cube was crafted from wood and featured rounded corners – a far stretch from what we recognize today!

Though there are many imitators in the market today, the original Rubik’s Cube measures roughly 2.25 inches (5.7cm) on each side and consists of 26 miniature cubes, 6 of which are affixed to the cubes core mechanism. Unlike the center cubes, the perimeter pieces can be rotated at 90°, 180° or 270° intervals to assist in solving. Based on number and color permutations, there is only one way to correctly solve the Rubik’s Cube and approximately 43 quintillion ways to get to wrong!

The cube was introduced to Americans in 1980, prompting a wave of commercials in the unique 80s style (they don’t make them like this anymore):

The seemingly impossible cube caused such a craze at home and abroad that on March 13, 1981 the Guinness Book of World Records organized the first ever Rubik’s Cube world championship. Speed solving, the practice of solving a Rubik’s Cube in the shortest time possible, has become so popular that dozens of informal competitions have been held to solve the Cube in very unusual situations. Such situations include:

• Solving blindfolded
• Solving underwater in a single breath
• Solving the Cube using a single hand
• Solving the Cube with one’s feet

While I may not be able to solve the Rubik’s Cube using both hands on dry land (not for lack of trying), this mathematical mystery brings together the ultimate Cube enthusiasts, whose fast fingers and quick wit fight to be the best in the world. And the only feeling better than breaking a world record once, is doing it twice!

In this video, Erik Akkersdijk sets the world record for a single solve with a time of 9.77 seconds on October 3, 2007. Less than a year later, on July 15, 2008, Erik destroyed his previous record at the 2008 Czech Open with a time of 7.08 seconds – now that’s dedication to a classic puzzle!

Source Citations:
“Rubik’s Cube.” Wikipedia. September 4, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubiks%27_cube