Fred, the child prodigy in the Jodie Foster movie 'Little Man Tate' builds a collapsible sphere using only rubber bands and pencils. What is this sphere called and what is it?

SOTHC

I think it is called a Hoberman sphere. http://www.hoberman.com/fold/Sphere/sphere.htm More about Chuck Hoberman, inventor of the Hoberman sphere: http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/hoberman.html http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Spring2006/hoberman.html [Added references - McG] Jun 14 05, 5:29 AM

lanfranco

Otherwise known as a collapsible icosidodecahedron. I've got one that's large enough for me to crawl into it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icosidodecahedron A Hoberman sphere is a structure that resembles a geodesic dome, but is capable of folding down to a fraction of its normal size by the scissor-like action of its joints. Colorful plastic versions have become popular as a child's toy: several toy sizes exist, with the original design capable of expanding from 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter to 76 cm (30 inches). A Hoberman sphere is not a true sphere, but a polyhedron known as an icosidodecahedron. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoberman_sphere [Added references - McG] Jun 14 05, 12:20 PM