Put-Together - Soma Cube

Soma Cube
Designer:Piet Hein
Craftsman:Trevor Wood
Category:Put-Together
Material:Sabah Ebony & English Pear
Pieces:7, plus the box

The soma cube was invented in 1936 by the Danish poet and puzzle inventor, Piet Hein. The name "Soma" is derived from the drug in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. A drug that transported the user into a dreamlike state. The Soma Cube never did that for me!
 
The seven pieces represent all of the ways in which three or four cubes can be arranged, except in a straight line. The Soma Cube is one of the simplest and most elegant of all three-dimensional put-together puzzles. It sold quite well by Parker Brothers in the late 1950's and early 1960's. A very nice rosewood version was also sold during this time frame.
 
In addition to making the pieces into a cube, several other shapes can be made from the pieces. A newsletter called the Soma Addict was published due to the popularity of the Soma Cube.
 
The version shown here was made by Trevor Wood. All of the pieces are made as animal figures.
 
More information in The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections