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Can you solve the human cannonball riddle? - Alex Rosenthal

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  • 519 Questions Answered
  • TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

They call you the human cannonball. Your act involves flying through rings of fire, bouncing through a trampoline course, and catching the trapezist in the grand finale. Today’s pre-flight test fails dramatically, and upon inspection, your cannon has clearly been sabotaged. Unfortunately, it’s too late to abort the launch. Can you fix it in time to catch the trapezist? Alex Rosenthal shows how.


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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Alex Rosenthal
  • Director Igor Coric
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu, Greg Chudzik
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
    • See more creators
Additional Resources for you to Explore
This riddle was adapted from a mathematical exercise presented in The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations by Boris Kordemsky. The original puzzle consisted of an arrangement of rabbits in two square cages, one stacked atop the other, with one chamber in the center of each cage reserved for equipment. Of course, the solution is the same as that of our human cannonball riddle, though the stakes aren’t quite as high.

Does this puzzle remind you of a certain beloved pastime? You might have noticed some similarities to Sudoku, which also requires solvers to apply logic to a combinatorial number-placement puzzle. These types of recreational mathematic games have a long history in popular entertainment, with early “magic square” examples appearing in 19th century French newspapers—for example, this puzzle featured in Le Siècle in 1892. Kordemsky essentially created a stacked version of this type of problem (think 3D chess from Star Trek), using a visual aid (rabbits) as a stand-in for numerical values. Its complexity belies its true simplicity, which characterizes much of The Moscow Puzzles and, we hope, our Human Cannonball riddle.

Want more puzzles? TED-Ed has lots of fun and challenging brainteasers in our Riddle Series!

Customize This Lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Alex Rosenthal
  • Director Igor Coric
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu, Greg Chudzik
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
    • See more creators

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