Missing Square Puzzle

New York magician Paul Curry invented this puzzle in 1953. When the pieces of the triangle are rearranged as shown, suddenly a square is missing. How is this possible?

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It’s not a true triangle — the hypotenuse is bent just slightly, by about 1/28th of a unit, to permit the deception. If you can’t see the bend, there’s another giveaway: If it were a true triangle, the red and blue pieces would be similar. But the blue triangle has a ratio of 5:2, and the red triangle has the ratio 8:3.

May 26, 2006July 18, 2013 | Puzzles