6.W. BURR PUZZLES When assembled, a burr looks like three sticks crossing orthogonally, forming a 'star' with six points at the vertices of an octahedron. Slocum says Wyatt [Puzzles in Wood, 1928, op. cit. in 5.H.1] is the first to use the word 'burr'. Collins, Book of Puzzles, 1927, p. 135, calls them "Cluster, Parisian or Gordian Knot Puzzles" and states: "it is believed that they were first made in Paris, if, indeed, they were not invented there." Since about 1990, there has been considerable development in new types of burr which use plates or boards rather than sticks, or whose central volume is subdivided more (cf in 6.W.1).
