Sources page biographical material

5.G. CONNECTION PROBLEMS
5.G.1. GAS, WATER AND ELECTRICITY
Dudeney. Problem 146 -- Water, gas, and electricity. Strand Mag. 46 (No. 271) (Jul 1913) 110 & (No. 272) (Aug 1913) 221 (c= AM, prob. 251, pp. 73 & 200 201). Earlier version is slightly more interesting, saying the problem 'that I have called "Water, Gas, and Electricity" ... is as old as the hills'. Gives trick solution with pipe under one house.

A. B. Nordmann. One Hundred More Parlour Tricks and Problems. Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co., London, nd [1927 -- BMC]. No. 96: The "three houses" problem, pp. 89-90 & 114. "Were all the houses connected up with all three supplies or not?" Answer is no -- one connection cannot be made.

Loyd, Jr. SLAHP. 1928. The three houses and three wells, pp. 6 & 87 88. "A puzzle ... which I first brought out in 1900 ..." The drawing is much less polished than Dudeney's. Trick solution with a pipe under one house, a bit differently laid out than Dudeney.

The Bile Beans Puzzle Book. 1933. No. 46: Water, gas & electric light. Trick solution almost identical to Dudeney.

Philip Franklin. The four color problem. In: Galois Lectures; Scripta Mathematica Library No. 5; Scripta Mathematica, Yeshiva College, NY, 1941, pp. 49-85. On p. 74, he refers to the graph as "the basis of a familiar puzzle, to join each of three houses with each of three wells (or in a modern version to a gas, water, and electricity plant)".

Leeming. 1946. Chap. 6, prob. 4: Water, gas and electricity, pp. 71 & 185. Dudeney's trick solution.

H. ApSimon. Note 2312: All modern conveniences. MG 36 (No. 318) (Dec 1952) 287 288. Given m houses and n utilities, the maximum number of non crossing connections is 2(m+n 2) and this occurs when all the resulting regions are 4 sided. He extends to p partite graphs in general and a special case.

John Paul Adams. We Dare You to Solve This! Op. cit. in 5.C. 1957? Prob. 50: Another enduring favorite appears below, pp. 30 & 49. Electricity, gas, water. Dudeney's trick solution.

Young World. c1960. P. 4: Crossed lines. Electricity, TV and public address lines. Trick solution with a line passing under a house.

T. H. O'Beirne. For boys, men and heroes. New Scientist 12 (No. 266) (21 Dec 1961) 751 753. Shows you can join 4 utilities to 4 houses on a torus without crossing.