From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Thu Mar 11 23:48:09 1999 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil (sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil [132.250.84.38]) by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1-mod) with SMTP id XAA16027 for ; Thu, 11 Mar 1999 23:48:08 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 22:04:21 +0000 From: David Singmaster Computing To: Norman.Diamond@dec-j.co.jp Cc: CUBE-LOVERS@ai.mit.edu Message-Id: <009D4ECA.6A22DEF3.10@ice.sbu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Fwd: Request for spectacular cube-solving - Can anyone help ? Yes there were ordinary cubes made with markings fo the blind. Rainier Seitz, product manager fro Arxon, the German distributor, made the first examples by heating a needle and making dice-like marking of one to six spots. Several versions were made commercially or by specialist firms. I have examples with zero to five spots in this style, alos with brass studs of five sizes and then Ideal (perhaps only Arxon) produced a version with moulded plastic facelets having symbols on them: +, -, hollow circle, square, triangle and solid circle. Meffert made pyramids with four different textures of surface I asked a blind friend if they were easyily distinguished and he said yes. DAVID SINGMASTER, Professor of Mathematics and Metagrobologist School of Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics Southbank University, London, SE1 0AA, UK. Tel: 0171-815 7411; fax: 0171-815 7499; email: zingmast or David.Singmaster @sbu.ac.uk