One way to sleep well is maybe to have the consensus of this forum.
I was here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......01&2

and went there:

http://www.roadshow.org/activities/explanation.html

(Thanks lockedroomguy for the info).

Now I lieed so much the puzzle (that I knew already, but had completely forgot aboutit) that I want to print it in some Postcards with my name address telefone etc (like business cards but biggers). The kids can cut them and play with the magic postcard of the bonnie kids!

It shouldn't be difficult to find the picture on internet, copy-paste and voila'...
my idea is reality.

What about that? How should I carry the situation to "sleep well at nights"?

// Andrea

Andrea,

I found one more place you can go:

http://geniimagazine.com/forum/cgi-bin/u......t=001636

Look for the post by "dben."

It turns out I was incorrect in the other thread: David Ben doesn't own the rights, but he is representing Pat Lyons who is the rights-holder (at least that's what the link says.)

So I suggest you check with David Ben about your postcard idea. I don't know anything about him or Ms. Lyons, so I can't imagine what they will say, but it never hurts to ask!

Regards

While Pat Lyons owns the rights to the Leprechaun puzzle, there are other versions that are in the public domain. You might want to find one of those.

Bill,
thanks for your post. Not easy to know what is in the public domain and what is not.

Do you have any idea?

Bonnie,

In Martin Gardner's book, Mathematics, Magic and Mystery (available from Dover Books) he discusses several versions of this puzzle in Chapter Seven, including:

- Vanishing Face
- Sam Loyd's Get Off the Earth (1896)
- Sam Loyd's Teddy and The Lions - not pictured (1909)
- DeLand's Paradox (1907)
- Gradner's The Vanishing Rabbit (1952)
- Two unnamed variations by Mel Stover (1956)

I don't know how you determine which of these are out of copyright, but I've provided the original copyright dates quoted by Gardner and I would guess some of them must be in the public domain now.

By the way, I haven't found the original book in which Gardner talks about the Vanishing Leprechaun, but it is reprinted in his book Aha! Gotcha by Freeman Books. I'm almost certain the original book appearance was in one of his Dover collections. Of course it will have been in one of his Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American too.

You can see a picture of the "Get Off the Earth" puzzle here:

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedi......rth.html

Finally, Robin Debreuil has designed a variant of the Vanishing Leprechaun that he has put in the public domain, which may or may not work for you and your kids:

http://blog.debreuil.com/default.aspx

You can probably find more by googling some of the puzzle names I've provided.

Regards

Use this rule of thumb, and you will be safe. If it is posted as being in the public domain by the author -- it is in the public domain. If it is over 100 years old, it is most likely in the public domain. If the author has been dead for 75+ years, it is in the public domain.

If a book is in the public domain, it does not mean that all the illustrations are. Look at the illustrations for information.

Using the principles on the web site above, you can make your own puzzle.

Nice comments and very helpful help.
I think I will do it..
Thanks to all of you.

/Andrea