Impossible bottle
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"Ship in a bottle" redirects here. For other uses, see Ship in a Bottle.
An impossible bottle is a type of mechanical puzzle. It is a bottle that has an object inside of it which does not appear like it could fit through the mouth of the bottle.
The ship in a bottle is a traditional type of impossible bottle. Other common objects used include matchboxes, decks of cards, tennis balls, racketballs, Rubik's cubes, padlocks, knots and scissors.
In nearly every impossible bottle, the object inside has been carefully disassembled and reassembled inside the bottle. For example, 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 without knowing the secret.
However, contrary to popular belief, a "ship in a bottle" is first assembled outside of the bottle, then placed inside. This then seems impossible, without knowing the secret of the ship.
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. This of course requires specialized long-handled tools, a keen eye, good coordination, and lots of patience.
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Harry Eng was a well known creator of impossible bottles.
