All thinkers

Ahmes: 2 puzzles worth knowing

2 puzzles from Ahmes, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• A 3,600-year-old Egyptian scroll hides the same trick as a children's rhyme about St Ives

  Problem 79 of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, copied around 1650 BC, describes a chain of sevens: 7 houses, each with 7 cats, each cat catching 7 mice, each mouse eating 7 grains o…

  — Ahmes (scribe), Rhind Mathematical Papyrus

• The scribe Ahmes's 'aha' problem

  Problem 24 of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, copied by the scribe Ahmes around 1650 BCE, poses a riddle about an unknown quantity the Egyptians called 'aha': a quantity, added to …

  — Ahmes (scribe), Rhind Mathematical Papyrus

Five ideas worth knowing, every week

The week's best cards and a puzzle, credited as always. Free, unsubscribe any time.

Subscribe