The last recreations: hydras, eggs, and other mathematical mystifications
Martin GardnerIn The Wonders of a Planiverse, we read about A.K. Dewdney's remarkable explorations in Flatlandthe land of two dimensionsas well as readers' comments on Flatland's implications for subjects ranging from relativity to firearm design. Taxicab Geometry explores the bizarre properties of a surprisingly simple form of non-Euclidian geometry. Fun with Eggs delves into the rich history of lore and methods of egg balancing. One of the readers' replies tells how to get hens to lay eggs with personalized notes inside. There are twenty other essays, on subjects ranging from prime numbers to checkers to the mathematics of voting, each more amusing and fascinating than the last.
This book is classic Martin Gardner, doing what he does better than anyone else.