puzzle 95 curious village

Puzzle 95: The Vanishing Cube from Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a classic optical illusion puzzle. Here's how to solve it: The Puzzle: You're shown a 4x4 grid of small cubes (16 total), arranged in a larger square. When the cubes are rearranged into a different shape (a rectangle), one cube seems to disappear. The question is: Where did the extra cube come from? The Solution: Initial Arrangement: - The first shape is a right triangle made of 16 small cubes (4 rows: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 6 = 16). - The hypotenuse (diagonal edge) appears straight but is actually slightly jagged. Rearranged Shape: - When the pieces are rearranged into a new right triangle, the hypotenuse now has a different slope due to the way the pieces fit. - The "missing" cube comes from the fact that the two shapes do not actually have the same total area. The diagonal is subtly different, creating a small overlap or gap. Key Insight: - The original and rearranged shapes are not perfect triangles. The "hypotenuse" is slightly concave or convex, meaning the total area changes. - The "extra" cube is an illusion caused by the rearrangement exploiting this slight difference. Visual Breakdown: Compare the slopes of the two diagonals. In the first shape, the slope is not perfectly smooth, and the rearrangement shifts this imperfection to hide one cubes worth of area. Answer: The "missing" cube is an illusion caused by the rearrangement of the shapes. The two configurations are not identical trianglestheir hypotenuses have slightly different slopes, resulting in a hidden overlap or gap equal to one cube. Would you like a diagram or further clarification?