Silly Octahedron Puzzle

cults3d

Five pieces come together to form a ball octahedron. Assembling it doesn't seem that hard, but this puzzle can be very confusing. The pieces spell out "CCLLI," which is pronounced "Silly" or alternatively "301" in Roman numerals. One thing making this puzzle difficult is that the pieces don't work well together. Three of the pieces have only 90 and 180-degree angles, while the other two contain only 120-degree angles. My problem assembling this puzzle is that I can't remember what the final shape looks like! It's useful to have a photo of the octahedron or even better an assembled Y-U or screwy octahedron. On its base, the octahedron rests on a face which is a confusing orientation for most people. Three faces of the finished octahedron are overhanging, which explains why cannonballs were never stacked this way!