W. W. Ross (1834-1906), the school superintendent in Fremont, Ohio (30 miles southeast of Toledo), for the last 42 years of his life, also made and sold a variety of wooden mathematical models. Two of them were hinged. One of the hinged models was an `explodable cube', which is identical to the dissected and hinged cube in Figure 20.2. Although Ross's published material does not explicitly connect that model with the hinged dissection of two cubes to a rhombic dodecahedron, it is difficult to believe that Ross would not have made the connection.
In October 2007, Gavin Theobald found a way to improve the 10-piece hinged dissection of cubes for 1:1:5:6::7 (Figures 20.11 and 20.12) by one piece. Well done, Gavin!
Copyright 2007, Greg N. Frederickson.
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Hinged Dissections: Swinging & Twisting
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Last updated November 3, 2007.