curiomaze@gmail.commatthew.mcfall@independentthinking.co.uk

Dr Matthew McFall11th February 2019

Dear All,

Thank you for making me so welcome on Friday! Very life-affirming and inspiring conversations at the puzzle table, and whoever organised the rainbow over the Dryden Centre deserves a prize! Wonders never cease….

I realise I forgot to mention that last year I wrote a short essay on the Nature Table for the brilliant compendium The Working Class. With a bit of detective work I discovered that Heather Feather is still alive and well and I sent her the book. And she wrote back! She remembered me and the nature table and was chuffed with my words. You could have knocked me down with a proverbial… I consider myself a very lucky bunny indeed.

I’ve copied the essay and added it to this bundle. I also found an article I wrote for the magazine The Simple Things about wonder walks. Hope you enjoy my ramblings.

Please do drop me a line sometime. In the meantime, good luck with your cabinets, loops, questions, provocations, and boxes...

A Curious Bundle for All Gateshead Wonder-Workers…

I wish you countless wonders ahead!

With gratitude,

Matthew

sapere vedere

Charles Le Brun (24 February 1619 – 22 February 1690)

Make Us a ‘T’….

Mealworms

Pupae

Jumping Beans

Stick Insects

Mimosa (Sensitive Plant)

Resurrection Plants

Air Plants

Moss

Geraniums

Artichoke

Sunflower Head

Gunnera Leaf

Seeds (Banana, Bird of

Paradise, Acorn, Coconut,

Assorted Trees)

Galls

Teeth (Human, Horse,

Shark)

Hair

Bones (Vertebrae; Inner Ear)

Skulls

Fossils (Megalodon;

Ammonite; Mammoth Rib)

Coprolites

Feathers

Eggs (Ostrich; Replicas)

Incubator

Bird Song Recordings

Abandoned Nests

Spider Skin

Dead Bees

Wasp Nest

Sea Monkeys

Triops

Vinegar WormsShells

Aristotle’s Lantern

Mermaids’ Purses

Goose Barnacle

Echinoderms

Crab

Slime Moulds

Celeriac

Frankincense

Voodoo Lily

Valerian Root

Carbolic Soap

Durian Fruit

Vanilla Pods

Oud

Models and Charts of:

The Brain

The Skull

The Spine

The Alimentary Canal

A Glass Eye

Carbon

Coal

Geodes

Gold

Fool’s Gold

Hydrogen/Tritium

Mercury

Nitinol

Polymers

Two-Piece Puzzles

(esp. Pyramid and Twins)

‘T’ Puzzle

Cowboy ‘Hobbles’

Robust Puzzle Boxes

Keys & Locks

Trick Padlocks

Word Locks

Word Safes

Tangram

Soma Cube

Tower of Hanoi

Marble Solitaire

Periodic Tables

Composition of the

Human Body

Maps

Gall-Peters Projection Map

Globes of the World

Old School Charts

Clockwork

Clocks

Cat’s Whisker Radio

Telegraph

Morse Transmitter

Typewriter(s)

Telephones

Cabinet Cards

Postcards

Old Newspapers/ Periodicals

Old Catalogues

Magnets

Ferrofluid

Lenz’s Law Apparatus

Jacob’s Ladder

Handheld Dexterity Devices

Trammel of Archimedes

Bilboquets

Yo-Yo

Cat’s Cradle

Crooke’s Radiometer

Benham Disk

Euler’s Disk

Tippe Top

Scribbling Top

Levitating Top

Rattlebacks/Celts

Thaumatropes

Labyrinths

Mazes

Dictionaries (OED, Blackie,

Chambers; Malay, Esperanto)

Riddles

Jokes

Proverbs

Fables

Secret Codes

Cuneiform

Shorthand

Gamebooks

Thunks (Gilbert)

Awe & Wonder (McFall)

Natural History Book (DK)

Dobble

Oska

Quoridor

Quarto

Marbles

Jacks

Dice

[space for additional wonders]

Möbius Loop/ Listing Band

Klein Bottle

Hypercards

Origami

Hexaflexagons

‘Fortune Teller’

‘Fortune Telling Fish’

Masks

Wooden Headrest

Boxes

Button Tin

French Knitting

Conjuring Set

Ropes and Knots

Calculator Cards

Magic Compass

Party Tricks

Optical Illusions

‘Magic Eye’

(Autostereograms)

Anamorphosis

Kinetic Illusions

Oracles

Fortune Cookie slips

Dispensers

Questions

Words

A Museum of Boring Things

Impossible Objects

Miniature Cabinets of Curiosities

Prisms

Magnifying Glasses

Microscope (stereo)

Stereoscope

Viewmaster

Zoetrope/ Praxinoscope

Periscope

Kaleidoscope

WONDER ROOM INVENTORY 12

Dr Matthew McFall 2019

Scales and Weights

Little Stones

‘If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing birdwill come.’ Chinese proverb

FOSSILS FOOLS’ GOLD

PRISM

FEATHERS

YO-YOSOLD

DICTIONARY

GEODES

BUTTON TINOLD

TELEPHONEBUBBLES

ANATOMICAL MODEL HATS

DRIED JELLYFISH

SCALES AND WEIGHTS

SPYGLASSTEN 45RPM

SINGLES

WHOOPEE CUSHION

ZX SPECTRUM 48/128K

TEETH LEAVES

BADGE-MAKING

MACHINETOILET ROLL

MICROSCOPE

PLAYING CARDS

PINEAPPLE ETCH-A-SKETCH

POCKET WATCH

ONE HUNDRED

TEASPOONS

TRICK PADLOCK

BOX OF BROKEN BISCUITS

LAPSANG SOUCHONG

BONES

GLASS EYE MASK RIDDLESCAT’S

WHISKER RADIO SET

UNLABELLED PHIAL OF

WATER

SCHOOL EARTH

POSTCARDS ONE HUNDRED TREE SEEDS IN WOODEN BOX

MAP TANGRAM

MARBLE SOLITAIRE

CODE WHEEL

SHELLS

MAGNETS

COD SKULL

MIRRORS

LARGE KEYFORTUNE COOKIES

EGG STATUETTE MEAL WORMS CONJURING SET

SUNFLOWER SEED HEAD

SEA MONKEYSBOTTLE OF PERFUME

COMPASS

SLIME

ABACUS

20 Naturalia for Wonder Boxes20 Artificialiafor Wonder Boxes

v.1 © Dr M.McFallJune MMXVIII

v.1 © Dr M.McFallJune MMXVIII.

The Marvellous DICE PREDICTION

1. Make your secret Prediction: Place 2 dice under the box, with the spots totalling 7 exactly. Do not let your Participant(s) see this total.

2. Ask your Participant to roll another set of 2 dice. They can make any total they like. You can encourage them to change their mind until they are happy. Ask them to add the total of spots on top and announce it.

3. Now hand your Participant the third set of dice. Ask them to use these dice to make up the same total as before – but they do not need to use the same spots.

4. Ask your Participant to give you any one of these dice. Place it under the box. Make sure it stays the same way up. And make sure they don’t see the spots on the other two dice hiding there.

5. Now ask your Participant to turn over the singleton die so that it shows the spots that are on the facing side.

6. Nearly there: ask your Participant to add up the three dice on the table (their original pair plus the flipped over die). Ask them to announce the total.

7. With sufficient dramatic flourish, lift up the box revealing the 3 dice. Ask your Participant to add up this total. It will match beautifully.

8. Repeat as many times as seem appropriate. 3 times is probably enough. Take a bow if you are so inclined.

9. Do not reveal the secret of this marvellous piece of mathemagic. However, you might hope that over time your Participants will be keen to work out the secret for themselves. If they do, you might like to award them with their own set of dice. And a big dollop of praise for their persistence and insight!

11 11

You will need 3 pairs of dice (here, black, red, and blue),a small box to hold them, and Participants!

8

Dr Matt McFall

MAGIC COUNTING

You will need 50 tokens in total, 25 of one colour and 25 of another colour. You can use coins (e.g. 1p and 5p coins) but it is better with bright tokens e.g. tiddlywinks or buttons. In these instructions, the tokens are imagined to be red and blue.

You will also need a box or a bag in which the tokens can be mixed. Oh, and a table on which to sort and count the tokens!

Sit at the table with the tokens in their bag or box. Take a deep breath, in and out. Give the bag or box and good shake.

Without looking, reach in and remove two tokens.

If the tokens are one of each colour (e.g. a red and a blue) place them on the table in front of you

If the tokens are both red place them on the table to your left.

You will be sorting the tokens by making three piles on the table: a pile to the left; a pile to the right; and a pile in the middle.

If the tokens are both blue place them on the table to your right.

Repeat: take two tokens without looking, and place them in a pile. Keep going. Repeat until all the tokens are on the table. It might look a bit like this:

This is the interesting bit. Count all the tokens in the left hand pile. Then count all the tokens in the right hand pile. Is there balance in the Universe? Do it all again: collect up the tokens, give them a good mix, lay them out in pairs, and count…

What is happening?

WONDERWALLS

Parthenogenesis

Illustration from The Home & School Reference Work, The Home & School Education Society (1917)

Observations on Stick Insects

The Indian Stick Insect:Carausius morosus

These wonders were first collected at Shembagnur, Pulney (or Palni) Hills, Tamil Nadu in Southern India and were brought to Europe in 1898.

These remarkable females are clones of the specimen shipped over at the end of the 19th Century. She reproduces herself by the miracle of parthenogenesis (‘virgin birth’).

They are said to live for 9 months, though I have known some to still be going strong at 17 months.

I’ve noticed that they can change colour: my mature female is orange – the same colour as the lid of her tank. I hear that they can adapt to match their background.

The inside of their leg joints are a very bright and surprising red.

Their needs are simple: bramble, privet or ivy to eat. This can last for over a week if the stalks are kept in water. I use a jam jar with a hole in the lid; block the hole around the stalks with cling-film to stop the insects falling in and drowning. A misting of water once or twice a week is welcome. They are happy at room temperature. Ventilation ensures a healthy environment.

The more they are handled the less morose they seem to be. Who needs a grumpy stick insect?

‘Learning is a wealth that none could destroy,Nothing else gives genuine joy.’Tirukkural, Thiruvalluvar (lived C2BC-5AD), Wise man and poet of the Tamil Nadu

Highly prized Calculator Cards from the Wonder Room ...Copy these onto card and share the mathemagic!

1. Have participant choose any card.2. Have participant choose any number from this card without revealing the number to you.3. Show participant the other cards, one at a time. If they see their number they are to tell you, again

without revealing the number.4. As you do this, make two piles, one with cards that show chosen number, one with cards that do

not.5. To find out the number chosen, add together the numbers in the top left-hand corner of the cards

which display the secret chosen number. The total will be the number chosen.6. I have found students very keen to repeat the experiment, and keen to work out the method. 7. Students (and staff) have become excellent ‘lightning calculators’.... Thus a ‘trick’ develops into a

display of speed and mathematical prowess...

Make two of these nets. Assemble and put them together to make a pyramid...

A Cracker of a Puzzle…

Foldable dodecohedron

NETS TO MAKE YOUR OWN PUZZLEThis is a template for an absorbing and surprisingly difficult four block block-stacking puzzle. The puzzle is considered solved when the blocks are stacked so that each side of the stack has one of each symbol on display, as in this example.I find it appeals to all ages and is a considerable test of patience and resilience! Good luck and happy stacking!

51. What is the meaning of life?52. What is the best thing in the world?53. What makes the world go round?54. What is love?55. How many beans make five?56. Do fish drink?57. Can a snail smell?58. How many toes does a cat have?59. Why is water wet?60. What happens if you press the button?61. Why are rainbows curved?62. What is normal?63. How do magnets work?64. What is gravity?65. How is the human race evolving?66. What is the most important invention in history?67. How many hairs are there on your head?68. Is the Universe friendly or unfriendly?69. What is the biggest number?70. When you eat an egg are you eating a bird?71. Is a computer clever?72. Can a baby commit a crime?73. Why are you here?74. What special power would you most like to

develop?75. What advice would you give to your younger

self?76. What is ‘never odd or even’?77. I have a bee in my hand. What do I have in my

eye?78. What is the sound of one hand clapping?79. How does Monday differ from every day of the

week?80. Name three vegetables that begin with the letter

‘T’.81. What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?82. What has an inside but no outside?83. What came first: the chicken or the egg?84. What is the most boring thing in the Universe?85. How old is [insert name of town or village]?86. How many legs does an insect have?87. When did the world begin?88. How do mirrors work?89. What is electricity?90. Is there life on other planets?91. What is magic?92. What’s your favourite word?93. Is it ever possible to learn nothing?94. What’s the secret of happiness?95. What colour are brains?96. Who invented forks?97. Are dinosaurs still alive?98. Which city is furthest from [insert town]?99. How many languages have been spoken on

Earth?100. What’s your favourite question?

1. Who are you?2. If you had to change your name what would you

call yourself?3. Where are you from?4. What is your favourite colour?5. What do you want to be?6. What is your favourite animal?7. What is your earliest memory?8. Who inspires you?9. When did you begin?10. What are you optimistic about?11. How would you describe yourself in three

words?12. How do you know that you are alive?13. What is your lucky number?14. What is your happiest memory?15. What is your favourite song?16. What would you like to change about the world?17. Do you dream in colour?18. What is your favourite place in the world?19. What is your favourite food?20. What are you most grateful for?21. What is the best book you’ve ever read?22. What does wonder mean to you?23. Who do you love?24. What is an anagram?25. How old do you feel?26. What can you hear?27. Where will you be in ten years?28. Why did the chicken cross the road?29. What has a tongue but cannot speak?30. What is a palindrome?31. What is the hardest question to answer?32. To which question must you always answer yes?33. What three misteaks can you find in this question34. What’s in the box? [next to a box in a display

cabinet]35. What do you call people born in [insert town]*?36. What is special about the number 8549176320?37. What is the difference between a maze and a

labyrinth?38. What time is it?39. How can a person become wise?40. What is the most random thing in the Universe?41. Where can peace be found?42. Why are some people superstitious?43. Would you like to travel forwards or backwards

in time?44. Why are some people scared of the dark?45. How can a person make a difference?46. How many senses do you have?47. What is the most dangerous thing in the world?48. Is there life on other planets?49. What is wrong with this

this question?50. Is this a poem? *

Bab

ies

100 Questions