The Möbius strip and Other Impossible Figures Quiz

Answer: Ferdinand Mobius

Johann Benedict Listing was the partner of Ferdinand Möbius, but they named it after Ferdinand. It was discovered in 1858. A Möbius strip is an infinite loop, and is impossible to make naturally in reality (although, you can make one by making a paper loop, cutting through a segment, twisting it, and stapling the result).

Answer: Klein Bottle

The Klein bottle has no distinction between inside and outside surfaces. A torus is simply a bicycle tire-shaped 3D figure, the golden triangle is an isosceles triangle with two longer sides that have equal lengths and in which the ratio of this length to that of the third, and a Rhombitruncated Icosidodecahedron is a 3D figure with 122 faces.

Answer: M. C. Escher

M.C. Escher made a multitude of lithographs and woodcuts, including pieces on the Möbius strip. His most well-known pieces include "Waterfall" and "Relativity".

Answer: Recycling

The recycling symbol represents the never ending usage we can get out of materials if we reuse them. It is one of the most widely recognized logos in the world.

Answer: 1

A one-sided shape would just be a line, and therefore isn't a shape at all. I don't think I need to explain why there can't be a shape with zero sides!

Answer: Penrose triangle

Though Oscar created it, Roger Penrose brought the shape popularity. There is an actual Penrose triangle located in Perth, Western Australia. However, the sculpture only looks like a Penrose triangle from certain angles, as it is truly impossible to create one in reality. Also, M.C. Escher featured the Penrose triangle in his lithograph, "Waterfall", which shows an apparently never ending waterfall being implemented by a waterwheel.

Answer: 3-Pronged Impossibility

Although Poiuyt makes no sense (it's the last 6 letters of the top row on a keyboard back-wards), it is accepted as an alternative title thanks to "Mad Magazine" who named it thusly in one of their issues. The devil's pitchfork appears to have a prong ambiguously lost in the middle.

Answer: False Perspective

An engraving done by William Hogarth in 1754, it purposely skews the perspective of the objects, people, and environment in the scene. It parodies misplaced perspective in art.

Answer: Necker Cube

The Necker cube was named after the man who published it, Louis Albert Necker. Because a Necker Cube is a 2D representation of a 3D object, it is drawn ambiguously, allowing for two different perspectives of it to appear to the human eye. There is no figure known as "Johnson's Cube" and the other two choices are "Ambiguous Cube" in Dutch and German, respectively.

Answer: Istvan Orosz

István Orosz, born October 24, 1951 in Kecskemét, Hungary, has an immense collection of etchings and illustrations that contain anamorphoses and optical illusions. He has also directed seven films, the most recent being "Time Sights" in 2004.