The desire to boast of any abilities lives in each of us. Someone can jump forward at a decent distance, someone is pleased to surprise others by reaching out with the tip of his tongue to his nose.
In the early 80s, a particular delight was a demonstration of intellectual abilities and sleight of hand in the aggregate. Then new puzzles appeared in the USSR, including a Rubik's cube and a snake, from the links of which you can assemble many two-dimensional and three-dimensional figures.
Who invented the puzzle
The Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik became famous all over the world thanks to his Rubik's Cube - an intellectual game that requires concentration, calm mood, systematic strategic thinking and sports excitement. The author patented the puzzle in 1975, and in the 80s she made him a millionaire.
Another, no less famous, but not so complicated puzzle that conquered children and adults from various social strata is Rubik's snake. The ball is the most popular figure, possibly due to its compactness.
What does a snake consist of?
24 prisms, the same size and connected by hinges, would seem to be a simple device. Its original form for assembling figures really resembles an elongated snake. Usually a two-color snake is easier to assemble.
From the instructions for the puzzle, you will learn how to make a ball, a dog, a cat, and many other intricate geometric shapes from a snake.
Step-by-step instructions for assembling a ball from a snake
The puzzle at first seems unusually complex. How to assemble a ball from a snake is completely incomprehensible. Nevertheless, having spent only a few minutes, you will surely “tame the snake” and transform it into an even beautiful figure.
So, how to make a ball out of a snake:
- You can start collecting the ball by turning the snake links both to the left and to the right. Lay the snake in front of you vertically so that the more elongated edge is on top, and the highest prism is the base to the ceiling. Suppose you are right handed. Take the prism in your left hand and with your right hand rotate the upper joint 90 degrees to the right.
- Rotate the second prism in the same direction also 90 degrees.
- We rotate the third joint of the snake in the same way, continuing to fold the prism segments in one direction.
- After you scroll the snake for the fourth time, as if turning it all the time to the right, you should get a very distinct part of the future ball - a recess of three faces of the same color, and edges of a contrasting color are adjacent to each of them .
- Further, having already taken on the snake itself, turn it towards yourself to the right.
- Repeat steps 1-4 so that you get another recess - the second part of the ball. Moreover, the last two actions you need to perform almost simultaneously, so that the snake prisms snugly pressed together.
- And we repeat the key action - we turn the snake itself away from the ball, release it in order to make another - the third part of the ball. Again, repeat steps 1-4 and bend the snake away from the ball. In total, you will end up with 8 recesses.
- At the end, we get a practically assembled figure with a protruding tail. How to make a ball out of a snake so that it is smooth, regular in shape, symmetrical? Find the “tail” with which you started to collect it, and move it away from the ball.
- We turn the second end, consisting of two prisms, to the right, and its very top - from ourselves.
- Now everything is simple - lower both ends towards the ball. The snake ball is ready.
Why is invention useful?
Rubik's snake perfectly develops spatial and figurative thinking and imagination. Indeed, in order to assemble a figure, you must constantly keep its picture in your head and understand what you are striving for in the end. Creative people will definitely come up with something new in the process of deploying the articulations of the snake at their discretion.
It is also a kind of gymnastics for the joints of the hands. Few people regularly perform gymnastics to prevent arthritis and arthrosis at an older age, and with a toy like a snake, this happens by itself.
After it becomes clear in practice how to assemble a ball from a snake, make another figure, come up with a story about it and tell it to your child. And be sure to help him make out and present in your angular, for example, a hippopotamus, his living prototype.
And then invite the baby to collect something simple himself. Let him turn the snake in plenty, developing fine motor skills at the same time.
Which snake is better to choose
Rubik's snake can be large and small, of different colors. If you take the snake in your hands, it will immediately become clear how convenient it is to deal with it - make sure that it turns without much effort. In a good way, instructions should be included in the package, although you yourself can easily find different ways to assemble puzzles of several difficulty levels. Learn practical videos: how to make a ball, a swan, a turtle, a dinosaur or a flower from a snake.
It is convenient to carry a small snake with you - there are snakes even in the form of key rings. But the owner of the toy larger probably feel like a real designer. The most important thing when choosing a snake is a strong desire to turn it in your hands and do something with it yourself.