MRI

MRI puzzle by Benjamin Heidt and Pelikan — MRI by Benjamin Heidt (crafted by Pelikan)

In the 1930’s, Columbia University physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi set out to determine the nuclear spin and associated magnetic moment of atoms in his molecular beam laboratory. He developed a method, which he called “molecular beam magnetic resonance”, to flip the direction of atomic moments by exposing them to electromagnetic waves of the right frequency, and detect the transition back to their original state. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1944, “for his resonance method for recording the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei.” His work led to our modern use of MRI imaging in medical applications.

Benjamin Heidt is a talented woodworker with a penchant for puzzles who lives in Germany with his family. In his day job, he works as a Field Service Specialist for MRI machines. It was only natural that he came up with an MRI themed puzzle, and he recently shared the story. ”When I was around 10 years old, I was already making wooden puzzles in my father's workshop. Back then I tried to make things a little more complicated. For example, in a two-dimensional puzzle, the cut edges were sawn at a 45° angle. It was only in the last few years that I discovered the hobby again. It became a passion.”

“I started with the standard 6 piece burr puzzle and their creators and admire the wealth of ideas in the current puzzle scene.” Ben’s admiration and enjoyment of other’s burr puzzle designs led him to create his own versions. The MRI puzzle was something completely different, but an obvious idea for him. “As with everything these days, a new idea has to stand out from the rest. With this design I might even be able to get radiologists excited about the puzzle scene. It's not a particularly difficult puzzle. The focus here was more on the design and the idea itself of freeing a patient from the MRI.”

The MRI puzzle is a beautifully rendered, turned puzzle which has been expertly crafted by the team at Pelikan, and really does look like an MRI scanner, complete with a patient lying on the bed who is actually stuck inside the machine – oh no! You may know that an MRI truly does have a huge magnetic mechanism, and anything magnetic is forbidden near the machine lest it ricochet across the room and cause harm and damage. Of course this had to play a role in Ben’s puzzle.

“An MRI is a big magnet. So a magnet had to be included in the solution. For this puzzle, I built a model of the mechanism using my son's Lego. This gave me a better idea of possible solutions depending on the required physical conditions such as gravity.” Ben crafted a few beautiful copies of his idea, but ”it takes a lot of time to build puzzles like this in my little hobby workshop. I improvise a lot to keep the amount of tools required low (due to space constraints). But the results are rewarding every time.” Lucky for the rest of the community, he stumbled upon the Pelikan Workshop.

“When I was looking for new ideas, I found a lot of inspiration at Pelikan. I wrote to Pelikan and presented my works. Then the offer came that if I ever had any good puzzles, they would be happy if I send them to them. If there is something nice /useful/ interesting about it, they would include it in their portfolio. I didn't miss this opportunity :-) I was surprised that Pelikan included this puzzle in their portfolio. The second surprise was that it became such a big hit that a second edition was immediately produced. It's a puzzle for the eye or the shelf, with a fairly simple solution, but so beautifully crafted that it enhances any collection. I love it.”

“There are still a lot of ideas there. I'm currently working on some new puzzles, which I will send to Pelikan. Staying in medical technology, there is also a puzzle called X-RAY. For a good "look through". A last word: Puzzlers are a strange bunch. On the one hand, crazy people actively invest a lot of energy and time in creating problems where none exist, only to have others - perhaps even crazier - solve them. Thank you and best regards form Bavaria, Ben”

In January 2023, the Carthusian monks of Chartreuse abbey, France, announced they would not be increasing production of their 300 year old, in-demand, eponymous herbal liqueur. The drinking world reeled. The monks remained nonplussed, and silent on the matter. Which means that this particular cocktail pairing, which uses the scarce liquid, is rather special. But a toast to the MRI would not have been complete without an equally magnetic cocktail. Some may know that the term MRI was adopted after the original name, NMR, was deemed too scary for patients to handle and accept. NMR stood for “nuclear magnetic resonance”, and physicians feared that patients wouldn’t want to go into a machine that was called “nuclear” anything. But we’re going nuclear again for this toast.

“No garnish can withstand the awesome power of the Nuclear Daiquiri.” – Gregor de Gruyther

The Nuclear Daiquiri was born at “LAB”, the London Academy of Bartender that served as London’s epicenter for the modern cocktail revival in the late ‘90s. LAB was a training ground for new up and coming bartenders for years before it opened to the public as a high energy drinking destination. Gregor de Gruyther was one of these up and comers, and wanted to make his mark with a potent twist on the classic daiquiri. His Chartreuse laden drink would become a cult classic, although when it hit the menu in 2005 it was not initially notable. Gruyther died just a few years later and never got to see his cocktail take flight in the hearts and imagination of its current devotees. The rise in popularity of the drink is attributed to the British steakhouse Hawksmoore, where a frozen banana version was featured in 2012 and the original came to light again. The cocktail is delicious, with a prominent herbal note and unusual accents from the falernum, an almond and ginger liqueur. I highly recommend drinking these while watching Oppenheimer. Cheers!

MRI puzzle by Benjamin Heidt and Pelikan and Nuclear Daiquiri — this pair has gone nuclear

Nuclear Daiquiri by Gregor de Gruyther

1 oz overproof Jamaican rum (Wray & Nephew)

1 oz lime

¾ oz green Chartreuse

¼ oz falernum

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a coupe. No official garnish (see quote from de Gruyther above)

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Nuclear Option

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