Recently, the folks at http://web.tickle.com sent out an advertisement where you have to assemble a cube in 3-D in your mind from a flat drawing, and then decide which of several drawn cubes match the truth.

I won't give the answer away here, but the included MATLAB figure file provides the cube rendered in 3-D so you can spin it around and decide for yourself.

Use "hgload cube" (or "hgload cube6" if you have a MATLAB version prior to MATLAB 7). Spin the cube around and play with it. Make sure that you check the rendered cube for correct placement of the graphics on the faces, INCLUDING THE ORIENTATION OF EACH GRAPHIC. (That's the detail that gives the surprising result!)

Caution: Users may give the answer in the comments below (in fact I encourage it). So if you want to solve the puzzle, do so before you read the comments.

Enjoy,
Michael Kleder, Oct 2005

(The fine print: Although this is an interesting puzzle sent out as a public advertisement from http://web.tickle.com, this posting is not in any way an endorsement, and represents "sample use" for purpose of critique.)