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Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

← Spark & Whetstone

Today

A small, calm ritual — one classic game or town plan, one word, one book, and below them a fold and a draw. Do one, do them all, or none. There's no streak to keep and nothing to miss.

Today's classicSavannah's squaresSavannah, Georgia, 1733 · a town that grows by repeating one small, complete neighbourhoodReplay the plan →Today's wordA word to namethe earthy, pleasant scent produced when rain falls on dry soil.Name it →Today's readAmusements in MathematicsHenry Ernest Dudeney · 1917Open it free →
Today's fold

Puppy

One sheet of paper; start with a square turned to a diamond. Try it from the words first; open the pictures only if you need them. A traditional dog face folded by children in Japan and far beyond.

  1. Fold the top corner over to the bottom corner. Press the fold flat.
  2. Fold the left corner over so it touches the bottom, like an ear. Press the fold flat.
  3. Fold the right corner over so it touches the bottom, like an ear. Press the fold flat.
  4. Fold the bottom tip up a little, toward you. Press it flat.
Show the pictures
Step 1
Step 1
Step 2
Step 2
Step 3
Step 3
Step 4
Step 4
The finished Puppy
Done

Dashes mean fold toward you; dash-dot means fold away. Every picture is drawn from the fold's real geometry. People have folded each model from these steps; tell us if one is still unclear.

More folding: The Folded Line · fold across the table with a child.

Today's draw

Ten numbers, ten rungs

A number from 1 to 100 comes out. Tap an empty rung for it, keeping the ladder in order from the bottom up. You can't move a number once it's placed. Everyone draws the same ten today; the children's version is RungPals.

    The almanac

    Tonight's Moon Waxing crescentA thin bow low in the west after sunset.Why the Moon changes →
    The idea across the family today Rules and gamesFor you: Great Games of Chess History. For the children: the same idea, one app per age.Every idea →

    Want a game of cards? Today's deals — Klondike, FreeCell and Minesweeper, each one checked so it can be won. Or name four words on the tide.

    That's today. Nothing more to scroll — come back tomorrow.