List of Impossible Puzzles

This is a list of puzzles which have been proven impossible. An impossible puzzle is a puzzle that cannot be solved by following the directions or criteria for that puzzle.

  • Mutilated chessboard problem
  • Some variations of Fifteen puzzle
  • Three-colouring the edges of the Petersen graph
  • Seven Bridges of Königsberg
  • Water, gas, and electricity
  • Three cups problem

Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, impossible and/or puzzles:

    “My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years.”
    —Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)

    “Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenango—with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists’ stage.”
    —Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)

    “Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this, it is impossible to be warned.”
    —James Baldwin (1924–1987)

    “Nothing puzzles me more than time and space; and yet nothing troubles me less, as I never think about them.”
    —Charles Lamb (1775–1834)