How the Seven Bridges of Königsberg Spawned New Math
During the 18th century the denizens of the Prussian city of Königsberg wrestled with a puzzle: How could they find a walking path through the city that crossed each of its storied seven bridges exactly once?The bridges spanned a river containing two large islands. No matter how much they strategized their routes, they couldn’t avoid repeating a bridge.The problem stymied local thinkers, who eventually wrote a letter to famed mathematician Leonhard Euler (pronounced “oiler”) begging him to lay their curiosity to rest.…