The World’s Hardest Easy Geometry Problem

Every once in a while a math problem takes the world by storm … at least the world of nerds.  About five years ago, the “World’s Hardest Easy Geometry Problem” hit the internet.  Not that this problem was new or unique.  After all, it has been around for hundreds of years.  However, with the speed and ease of communication of the internet, the problem spread like wildfire.  In fact, according to rumors, the problem was so addictive that the whiteboards in the offices of Google were filled with attempted solutions.  As the story goes, one employee said that the problem probably cost Google about a quarter of a million dollars in lost time.

What was the problem that people couldn’t stop thinking about?  Think you can solve it?  Enjoy … and no cheating!  (For a PDF version of the problem, click World’s Hardest Easy Geometry Problem.)