Escher Bracelet
by submission
Image text: The only downside is that it would be a little uncomfortable
This comic provided by Rik 't Hoff. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=516678350
Escher here refers to Maurits Cornelis Escher, a Dutch graphic artist best known for his “impossible in reality” drawings, such as a pair of hands drawing the other on paper and multidimensional buildings that have stairs and/or water both running horizontal and vertical while using the same gravity. Escher's work was partly inspired by impossible objects, such as the Penrose tribar.
Depicted here is a variation of such an impossible object: a bracelet that is solid (without any breaks) but has one horizontal turn of the material used. In spite of the above mentioned tribar, this object is possible in real life. (due to the equal shadowing Randall used). The image text references this, stating that it would be possible to create such a bracelet, but the wearer would have to bear the turn cutting into the skin.
January 5th, 2012
This is one I wrote an explanation for as well.
The name for this object is a Mobius Strip – It can easily be made by taking a strip of paper and adding a twist before attaching the ends together. In this way, a line running down the middle of the strip will eventually go on “both sides” of the strip and loop back on itself because a Mobius Strip, in fact, has only one side.
Escher in fact used the Mobius Strip in at least one work: Mobius Strip II which, for whatever reason, is far more popular than Mobius Strip I, which I had trouble Googling.
The basic reference in this strip which you haven’t explained is the bracelet itself, which references a “WWJD” bracelet. This popular item is work by Christians to remind them to behave as Jesus would to be a good person. The bracelet depicted reminds me of the type of rubber bracelet popular around the time of this strip (popularized first by biker Lane Armstrong’s anti-Cancer “Livestrong” yellow rubber bracelets).
January 14th, 2012
*Lance Armstrong
February 9th, 2012
This description should be replaced too. Although Escher did “impossible figures”, he did a lot of possible but interesting ones, too, like the Mobius strip above. This is a Mobius strip, and Escher drew them because he liked weird and interesting geometry. It’s not impossible…it’s just non-orientable.