This puzzle lamp circuit is not a trick by any stretch of the imagination. I made it up essentially as a little house party diversion for the children, and then discovered that the young ones weren’t interested but the older ones would spend half the evening gambling with it.

It is a hookup of four standard four-way snap switches (in England they call this type a three way switch) and five light bulbs. One of these is a red light. The switches and lights may be mounted on the cover of a shallow box and the wiring concealed underneath. Or, the switches may be on the outside and the lights inside, showing their glow through open holes. The idea behind it all, when the device has been plugged into the regular 110 volt house circuit, is to snap the various switches in an effort to light the center, or red, light. The house has been quite upset since the thing was built, a circle being formed and a pot being created, each tossing a nickle for a single snap of any one of the switches. The pot grows and grows in odds for your nickle, and we’ve seen it reach seven dollars before the red light went on for the jackpot. And when it gets up into the dollars just try to shoulder your way through those wanting to snap one. More conservative magi can use it with pennies — and get just as much excitement.

The drawings and photos explain everything. The wiring diagram shows single bulb sockets in use, but my set was made with double sockets to conserve space. That doesn’t affect the wiring in any way. This device cannot short circuit in any way on the combinations but if you’re a little timid you can insert a 100-watt lamp in series with either of the leads from the house socket to the set.