A leading expert on puzzles has donated a treasure trove of brain-twisters — from ancient Chinese mind-benders to an original Rubik's Cube — that will go on display at a university for visitors to wrap their heads around.

Jerry Slocum, a retired aeronautic engineer and author of 10 books on puzzles, has donated his collection of more than 30 000 items to Indiana University, located in Bloomington, near Indianapolis.

A display of 400 of those items opens Thursday at the university's Lilly Library. Visitors will not only be able to see some rare items, but try to solve some of the mind-benders by playing with replicas.

Slocum, also a former vice president at Hughes Aircraft, said that he has been passionate about puzzles since he was a child.

"My father was an engineer. When he would come back from a trip, he would bring me back puzzles instead of toy guns," Slocum told AFP.

"At the age of 10 years, I bought with my allowance my first Chinese rings. I solved it in two weeks. I was so delighted. It was such a thrill and was such a great satisfaction that it's been a life changing experience."

The Chinese ring puzzle consists of a series of rings attached by rods that is threaded over a horizontal loop of thin wire. The object is to remove all the rings, which can be removed only following a specific sequence.

While a typical Chinese ring set has six rings, the sample on display has 65.

Over the years as he travelled the world Slocum collected a myriad of puzzles — wood polyhedrons, Japanese secret compartment boxes, puzzles vessels that use water, and interlocking puzzles.

The famous Rubik's Cube, invented by Hungarian mathematician Erno Rubik and still one of the best selling puzzles ever, is on display in its original box from 1980 and signed by Rubik.

"An example of human ingenuity"

Mechanical French, German and Dutch puzzles from the 17th century are also on display.

"I'm getting old," Slocum (75) told AFP in a telephone interview. "I wanted a university to take care of these items properly for education and research. I wanted the items to be available to scholars and public."

Slocum describes his puzzles as "an example of human ingenuity."

Indiana University is to hold a class in September for computer game designers that includes hands-on practical work with some of the puzzles. According to Slocum, to suceeed in resolving these brain teasers you "need patience and flexibility of thinking.

"I enjoy mathematics but it's not a requirement," he said. "You have to look at different ways."

If the history of the puzzles goes up with antiquity — certain puzzles appear in the Bible, according to Slocum — their renewal shows their enduring popularity.

Japan is by far the biggest market for puzzles, Slocum says, and puzzles remain extremely popular in places like the Czech Republic.

Each year for the past 26 years Slocum has organised a five-day long international "puzzle party," which attracted some of the world's top puzzle designers.

AFP