Flexagon facts for kids
A flexagon is a fun paper toy that you can fold to show different hidden sides. It's like a flat model, usually made from paper. When you "flex" it, new faces appear!
Flexagons often come in square or rectangular shapes, called tetraflexagons. Others are shaped like hexagons, and these are called hexaflexagons. The name also tells you how many faces it has. For example, a hexahexaflexagon is a hexagon-shaped flexagon with six different faces you can reveal.
Contents
How Flexagons Were Discovered
The Start at Princeton University
A British student named Arthur Harold Stone first found out about flexagons in 1939. He was studying at Princeton University in the United States. His American paper was too big for his English binder. So, he cut off the edges of the paper. He started folding these strips into different shapes. One of his folds created a trihexaflexagon.
Other students became very interested in these cool paper shapes. These students included Bryant Tuckerman, Richard Feynman, and John Tukey. They decided to form a group called the Princeton Flexagon Committee. Bryant Tuckerman even found a special way, called the "Tuckerman traverse," to show all the hidden faces of a flexagon.
Flexagons Go Public
Flexagons became known to more people thanks to Martin Gardner. He was a writer who loved fun math puzzles. In 1956, he wrote about flexagons in his first "Mathematical Games" column. This column was published in the famous Scientific American magazine.
Trying to Sell Flexagons
The "Hexmo" Toy
In 1955, two people named Russell Rogers and Leonard D'Andrea wanted to make flexagons into a product. They applied for a patent for the hexahexaflexagon. A patent is like a special permission that stops others from copying your invention. In 1959, they got their patent for "Changeable Amusement Devices and the Like."
They thought flexagons could be used as toys, for advertising, or even as a fun way to learn about geometry. A few of these toys were made by a company in Pittsburgh. They called the toy the "Hexmo." However, the "Hexmo" did not become very popular.
Images for kids
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A tritetraflexagon can be folded from a strip of paper as shown.
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This figure has two faces visible, built of squares marked with As and Bs. The face of Cs is hidden inside the flexagon.
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This trihexaflexagon template shows 3 colors of 9 triangles, printed on one side, and folded to be colored on both sides. The two yellow triangles on the ends will end up taped together. The red and blue arcs are seen as full circles on the inside of one side or the other when folded.
See also
In Spanish: Flexágono para niños
