Description
The Borromean Rings were one of the earliest impossible objects created. Named after the Italian Renaissance House of Borromeo who featured the rings on their coat of arms, there are many related designs from other cultures around the world, some of which date back as far as the 7th century.
It is impossible to construct the Borromean Rings out of circular rings in three-dimensional space, but an illusion can be made from elliptical rings or non-planar rings (non-planar version above). No two rings are linked, so if one was cut, the others would no longer be held together. Although usually depicted as a set of 3 rings, there are also variations of the Borromean Rings that are formed out of more than 3 rings.
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