Famous Trick Donkeys facts for kids

Sam Loyd's Famous Trick Donkeys puzzle. The solver must cut out the three rectangles and reassemble the pieces so that the two jockeys appear to be riding the two donkeys.

Famous Trick Donkeys is a puzzle invented by Sam Loyd in 1858, first printed on a card supposed to promote P.T. Barnum's circus. At that time, the puzzle was first called "P.T. Barnum's trick mules". Millions of cards were sold, with an estimated income for Sam Loyd of $10,000 from 1871—about $200,000 in 2014 dollars.

Puzzle

The printed card of the puzzle shows two donkeys, the central part of which has been left blank on purpose. The third part of the card are the riders, and the objective of the puzzle is to arrange the three pieces (the two donkeys and the riders) so the riders are mounting the donkeys.

Variations

In the 1857 version of the book The Magician's Own Book or the Whole Art of Conjuring there appears a picture of two dogs laying on the ground facing opposite sides. Called "The Dead Dog Puzzle" the objective was to draw 2 lines which make the dogs seem to be alive, instead of lying in the ground. In 1939 another variation of the puzzle was found as a prize of a popcorn company in their packages, the puzzle showed two mules and two cowboys. This time the mechanics of the game were the same as Sam Loyd's, other companies used a tiny card with this puzzle as a gift, like the Hotel Wellington in Albany in the 50s.

Today, many puzzle and mind-teasers websites offer the puzzle as an online game or a print-friendly version of it.

Solution

The solution

The solution for the puzzle is that of the two horses drawn the head and back of each is not the one linked with lines. The head for the first horse is the back of the horse on the other side of the card and vice versa. To solve the puzzle the two horse pieces are placed in a way that the back of the horse on the first piece is facing the back of the horse on the second piece. In the gap between should be slid the jockey's piece of paper, thus forming an image on which a horse is running to the left and the other to the right, one upside up, and the other upside down.

Images for kids

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  "The Dead Dog Puzzle"

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  "The Dead Dog Puzzle" solution