It’s quite amazing to think how big objects fit inside a bottle with a very small opening or mouth. When I was young, I used to think that the bottom of the bottle is cut with a diamond in order for these objects to be put inside and then glued back. But I have learned that’s not the way how it is done.

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This impossible bottle contains a miniature house. It was carefully and patiently handcrafted by an inmate to earn a living while inside the prison. It was sold to me by a friend of the inmate.

Before going any further, let’s define what an “impossible bottle” is. Well, an impossible bottle is a type of mechanical puzzle. It is a bottle that has an object inside of it which does not appear to fit through the mouth of the bottle like the picture above.

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A traditional and common type of impossible bottle contains a ship like the example above which is a replica of the “Sinking Titanic”. Other ordinary things used include knots, scissors, racket balls, matchboxes, decks of cards, tennis balls, Rubik’s cubes and padlocks.

One great designer and craftsman of impossible bottles is John Rausch. The two impossible bottles below are his creation.

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The first bottle which is a tomato juice bottle contains a fully-functioning, unmodified Rubik’s cube. Other objects that it contains include a tennis ball, a ping pong ball and a seven-inch pair of scissors.

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The second impossible bottle is a Martinelli apple juice bottle. The inside diameter of the neck is about one inch. The Rubik’s cube is fully operational. This is one of the more difficult impossible bottles that he created.

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In creating these impossible bottles, the object inside has been carefully disassembled and reassembled inside the bottle. For instance, to get a deck of cards inside a bottle, the empty box is first rolled up and inserted, followed by each card one at a time. Using some long forceps and other tools, everything can be put back together again and the result is something that looks impossible to one who does not know the secret.

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To put a “ship in a bottle”, it is first assembled outside of the bottle and then placed inside. Some ships are assembled whole with the masts hinged and lying flat against the deck. The ship is placed inside the bottle and then the masts are pulled up. Other times, especially with broader beamed ships like motor boats, the ship is reassembled in the bottle.

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In order to be able to complete an “impossible bottle” this requires specialized long-handled tools, a keen eye and good coordination. This handcraft is suitable to people with a lot of patience and to people who are inside prison cells. Engaging in this kind of craft eradicate boredom and at the same time give them the opportunity to earn while waiting to be free men again.

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