Message #2693

From: Melinda Green <melinda@superliminal.com>
Subject: Re: Halfcut 120-cell
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:06:12 -0700

On 3/19/2013 11:20 PM, schuma wrote:
> — In 4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com, "schuma" <mananself@…> wrote:
>> In the latest MPUlt, there is a 120-cell_halfcut. It’s the Face turning 120-cell where the cutting plane passes the center. I think it can be considered as the Pentultimate in 4D. I don’t think anyone has attempted it. But I’m sure you have enough courage to make the move.
> Let me compare it with the shallow cut 120-cell, which has 7560 stickers, but only 2520 movable pieces. The 120-cell halfcut has 14400 stickers, all of which are 1C pieces: there are 14400 pieces! The situation is similar to the Big Chop (half-cut edge turning dodecahedron). Even the shape of cuts on each dodecahedral cell is like the Big Chop. But this puzzle is still face turning, so it is a proper analog of Pentultimate.

Pardon my changing the subject line, but wow, what a puzzle! Everything
moves with every move! I had completely overlooked this one. How would
you even start to develop a solution? I’ve learned to never say that any
puzzle is impossible, but I think you’d need some fancy tools like the
piece-finder on steroids.

This puzzle is so nasty that the stickers all look like fangs in some
alien mouth, at least with the sticker-shrink value I’m using. Guys, you
gotta try this: Download MPU <http://astr73.narod.ru/MPUlt/MPUlt.html>
if you haven’t already and load up this puzzle. Then turn the twisting
speed down to a crawl. Then click on any sticker and recoil in horror.
If anybody makes a serious attempt to solve this thing, we need to bring
in a news crew to document it.

-Melinda