The Betsy Ross Puzzle
Unreviewed import — a classic from the public domain; its solution has not been machine-checked yet.
math
A correspondent asked me to supply him with the solution to an old puzzle that is attributed to a certain Betsy Ross, of Philadelphia, who showed it to George Washington. It consists in so folding a piece of paper that with one clip of the scissors a five-pointed star of Freedom may be produced. Whether the story of the puzzle's origin is a true one or not I cannot say, but I have a print of the old house in Philadelphia where the lady is said to have lived, and I believe it still stands there. But my readers will doubtless be interested in the little poser.
Take a circular piece of paper and so fold it that with one cut of the scissors you can produce a perfect five-pointed star.
Solution
Commit an attempt to unseal the proof. Write your answer — right or wrong, thinking it through is the point.
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