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A hexaflexagon is paper disc that looks like it has two sides, a front and back, but when you "flex" it, the hexaflexagon reveals six (6) different faces. You will be amazed!

For example, here are the six faces of one of my own hexaflexagons.

The six faces of a hexaflexagon.

 
Also, the flexing action is so therapeutic that you won't want to stop.

To be rigorously correct, these flexagons should be called hexahexaflexagons. That's worth knowing for web searches. The first "hexa" denotes the six different faces, and the second "hexa" denotes the shape of the flexagon. But the 6-faced job is the king of them all, so I simply call it the hexaflexagon. Heck, most of the time, I just call it a "flexagon". Accept no substitutes!

You can find other web pages which discuss the hexaflexagon. They will even tell you how to make one yourself. (See below.) But be forewarned - your first effort will take many hours, and your first flexagon will work just like the piece o' junk it's sure to be. Whoops, didn't mean to alienate anybody there!

Anyhow, why not buy one cheap from an experienced pro?

Now you can!

My hexaflexagons are 3.5 inches in diamater. They come in either single-ply or double-ply construction.

CATALOG NUMBER: dh01
ITEM DESCRIPTION: Single-ply hexaflexagon. Slimmer and trimmer than the double-ply model, and therefore even more surprising that it hides 6 different faces. Many wet-ink color pens will bleed through, but works fine for color pencils, ball-point pens and stickers.
PRICE: $3.00 (includes first class postage)

CATALOG NUMBER: dh02
ITEM DESCRIPTION: Double-ply hexaflexagon. Built to last a lifetime. Handles marker pens without bleed-through..
PRICE: $5.00 (includes first class postage)

FOREIGN ORDERS:
    Canada and Mexico: add $1 per order of any size
    All other countries: add $2 per order of any size

 
Understand that your flexagons come completely blank. (Actually, there are some lightly penciled numbers identifying the 6 different faces that you might find helpful before you erase them.) Let your inner artist out and decorate the faces in 6 completely different ways - with solid colors, colorful patterns, drawings, stickers, special messages, etc. I've had good luck with spray paint. You can even cut a photo into pie slices and glue it onto a face. Anyhow, there's not much point to a flexagon if the faces all look the same.

Kids love them, too! (But don't pin me down on whether that's flexing the things, or destroying 'em!)

Just follow these steps:

1. Check the address bar of your browser to make sure you are at www.donaldsauter.com/hexaflexagon.htm (with or without the "www"), which is the active and up-to-date version of this page. If not, go there now.

2. Send me an email at donaldsauter@gmail.com indicating how many of each CATALOG NUMBER you desire; the TOTAL COST; and your MAILING ADDRESS (optional, if your address on file with PayPal is up-to-date.)

3. Wait for a CONFIRMATION EMAIL indicating everything is in order. This is mainly for your benefit; without confirmation you might not be sure this offer is still in effect.

4. Deposit the TOTAL COST in my PAYPAL account, using my email address, donaldsauter@gmail.com . In PayPal, click the button for "This is a purchase of Goods." A short note in the "Email to recipient" box is optional; I usually have no trouble correlating the PayPal payment with the original request.

If you don't want to fool with PayPal, I can tell you how to send payment in the mail, no problem.

That's it. Sit back and wait a few days for delivery.

SAMPLE EMAIL ORDER: No need to be clever and original - just use the following as a template:

    Hi Don!  

    Please send me 2 dh01 flexagons.

    I will deposit $6 in your Paypal account.

    Thanks!
    
    Sally

    SALLY GOODIN
    9316 PEACH PIT DR
    COBBLER  GA  21567

 
DO IT YOURSELF: Here, I think, are the clearest instructions on the web for making a hexaflexagon: Kathryn Huxtable's Instructions for Making Hexahexaflexagons.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS: Kathryn also provides instructions on how to flex the hexaflexagon. Unfortunately, the pictures supplied with flexing instructions always seem lacking to me. Perhaps video instructions on the web, which I have not checked out, do a better job.

When flexing a hexaflexagon, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS:

BEFORE OPENING THE HEXAFLEXAGON TO REVEAL THE NEXT FACE, YOU MUST HAVE THE HEXAFLEXAGON COMPLETELY SCRUNCHED UP.

This means that when you look down on it in your hands, you will see it as 3 "spokes", in the shape of a Y or T, where each "spoke" is a pair of adjacent triangular panels squeezed together. Then, at that point, do you open it up UNIFORMLY, from the central, top point. Imagine a blossom opening up. NEVER open up a hexaflexagon that is not fully squozen.

Pretty art by my niece Debbie Hope; clunky designs probably by me.

Christmas hexaflexagon with stencil, speckly spray paint, happy guy,
paste-ons, red hat scheme, pie-sliced photo.

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Parents, if you're considering tutoring or supplemental education for your child, you may be interested in my observations on Kumon.