The first diagram is the answer that nearly every one will give to this
puzzle, and at first sight it seems quite satisfactory. But consider the
conditions. We have to lay "every one of the sticks on the table." Now,
if a ladder be placed against a wall with only one end on the ground, it
can hardly be said that it is "laid on the ground." And if we place the
sticks in the above manner, it is only possible to make one end of two
of them touch the table: to say that every one lies on the table would
not be correct. To obtain a solution it is only necessary to have our
sticks of proper dimensions. Say the long sticks are each 2 ft. in
length and the short ones 1 ft. Then the sticks must be 3 in. thick,
when the three equal squares may be enclosed, as shown in the second
diagram. If I had said "matches" instead of "sticks," the puzzle would
be impossible, because an ordinary match is about twenty-one times as
long as it is broad, and the enclosed rectangles would not be squares.
[Illustration]