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Pentangle (puzzle Supplier)
Pentangle, later Pentangle Puzzles, was a British manufacturer and distributor of burr puzzles and other mechanical puzzles. It operated in the UK from 1971 until 2018. It was best known as the first company to distribute what became called " Rubik's Cube" outside Hungary. Early history Pentangle was set up as a family business by Ron Cook. It operated from premises in Over Wallop in rural Hampshire, England, originally with seven employees including Cook's wife, daughter and son. It was registered as a company in 1971, by Cook and his business partner James Dalgety, with the name Paradox Engineering Ltd. to avoid infringing the rights of the band Pentangle. It traded as Pentangle. Pentangle's first product was a burr puzzle, the Woodchuck puzzle, whose object was to assemble 24 wooden pieces into an octahedral shape. It sold hundreds of thousands of these. Pentangle eventually made a total of 314 different burr puzzles, and from 1979 made and sold the "Chinese Cross", a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burr Puzzle
A burr puzzle is an interlocking puzzle consisting of notched sticks, combined to make one Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, usually Symmetry, symmetrical unit. These puzzles are traditionally made of wood, but versions made of plastic or metal can also be found. Quality burr puzzles are usually precision-made for easy sliding and accurate fitting of the pieces. In recent years the definition of "burr" is expanding, as puzzle designers use this name for puzzles not necessarily of stick-based pieces. History The term "burr" is first mentioned in a 1928 book by Edwin Wyatt, but the text implies that it was commonly used before. The term is attributed to the finished shape of many of these puzzles, resembling a seed burr (fruit), burr. The origin of burr puzzles is unknown. The first known record appears in a 1698 engraving used as a Book frontispiece, frontispiece page of Chambers's Cyclopaedia. Later records can be found in Germany, German catalogs from the late 18th cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechanical Puzzles
A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces in which the solution is to manipulate the whole object or parts of it. While puzzles of this type have been in use by humanity as early as the 3rd century BC, one of the most well-known mechanical puzzles of modern day is the Rubik's Cube, invented by the Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik in 1974. The puzzles are typically designed for a single player, where the goal is for the player to discover the principle of the object, rather than accidentally coming up with the right solution through trial and error. With this in mind, they are often used as an intelligence test or in problem solving training. History The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consists of a square divided into 14 parts, and the aim was to create different shapes from these pieces. This is not easy to do. (see Ostomachion loculus Archimedius) In Iran "puzzle-lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Over Wallop
Over Wallop is a small village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The village lies close to the border with Wiltshire, approximately northwest of Stockbridge. Over Wallop is the westernmost of the three villages collectively known as The Wallops, the other two being Middle Wallop and Nether Wallop. The name "Wallop" derives from the Old English words and ''hop'', which taken together roughly mean "the valley of springing water". Over Wallop was described in the Domesday Book as the 'other Wallop', smaller than Nether Wallop. Over Wallop contains the spring that sources a small river known by locals as “The Brook”. “The Brook” is a tributary of the River Test. A linear earthwork and flint mines are located in the parish. The earthwork, known as the Quarley High Linear band and ditch, was constructed 245 ± 155 BC. The flint mines date to 3983 ± 106 BC. Amenities Over Wallop has a small village shop and a fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph and Courier''. ''The Telegraph'' is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", was included in its emblem which was used for over a century starting in 1858. In 2013, ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph'', which started in 1961, were merged, although the latter retains its own editor. It is politically conservative and supports the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party. It was moderately Liberalism, liberal politically before the late 1870s.Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Journalismp 159 ''The Telegraph'' has had a number of news scoops, including the outbreak of World War II by rookie reporter Clare Hollingworth, desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Wide Fund For Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. WWF is the world's largest conservation organization, with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries and supporting around 3,000 conservation and environmental projects. It has invested over $1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1995. WWF is a foundation with 65% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank, FCDO, and USAID) and 8% from corporations in 2020. WWF aims to "stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature." '' Living Planet Report'' has been published every two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Singmaster
David Breyer Singmaster (14 December 1938 – 13 February 2023) was an American-British mathematician who was emeritus professor of mathematics at London South Bank University, England. He had a huge personal collection of mechanical puzzles and books of brain teasers. He was most famous for being an early adopter and enthusiastic promoter of the Rubik's Cube. His ''Notes on Rubik's "Magic Cube"'' which he began compiling in 1979 provided the first mathematical analysis of the Cube as well as providing one of the first published solutions. The book contained his cube notation which allowed the recording of Rubik's Cube moves, and which quickly became the standard. Singmaster was both a puzzle historian and a composer of puzzles, and many of his puzzles were published in newspapers and magazines. In combinatorial number theory, Singmaster's conjecture states that there is an upper bound on the number of times a number other than 1 can appear in Pascal's triangle. Career Davi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly''. In December 2024, Tortoise Media acquired the paper from the Scott Trust Limited, with the transition taking place on 22 April 2025. History Origins The first issue was published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, making ''The Observer'' the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy,Hays, Constance L. "Judith Albert, 59, Toy Designer Whose Doll Led to Buyer Frenzy," ''New York Times'' (Aug. 1, 1998). Toni, Saucy Walker, Shirley Temple, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy, Thumbelina, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube. History 1903–1939 Morris and Rose Michtom founded the "Ideal Novelty and Toy Company" in Brooklyn when they invented the Teddy bear in 1903. Rose had made the original "Teddy's Bear" for their children. Morris and Rose sent a bear to President "Teddy" Roosevelt, as well as asking permission to use his name for the bear. Roosevelt "adopted" the bear and had it present in his campaign and on display at White House functions. After Morris Michtom' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FT 30 and later the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100 indices. ICI was formed in 1926 as a result of the merger of four of Britain's leading chemical companies. From the onset, it was involved in the production of various chemicals, explosives, fertilisers, insecticides, dyestuffs, non-ferrous metals, and paints; the firm soon become involved in plastics and a variety of speciality products, including food ingredients, polymers, electronic materials, fragrances and flavourings. During the Second World War, ICI's subsidiary Nobel Enterprises, ICI Nobel produced munitions for Britain's war effort; the wider company was also involved with Britain's nuclear weapons programme codenamed Tube Alloys. Throughout the 1940s and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
