Maze Comic Book Cover #74 - STING

May 27, 2025

Issue #74 in my comic book cover series is called STING and features the maze of a scorpion. I had been wanting to make a maze of a scorpion for awhile and am glad to present this one. The only problem with it is the size of a scorpion makes the maze very easy to solve because of the tight pathways.

My comic book cover mazes can be found in 2 places:

Comic Book Cover Mazes - Year 1 (Issues #1-53)

Comic Book Cover Mazes - Year 2

To receive a book of my first year of comic book book mazes (Volume 1 with mazes #1-53) you can sign up for my book alerts - any time I launch a free maze book, or paid book (on Amazon), I will send you a note about the new book launch.

Maze of the Week 75 Redux - Peter B Lewis Building (MOTW#178)

May 26, 2025

I think the first version of the maze was fine. I made it with shadows and in color which used to be the typical changes I would make on a maze to improve it. But now that I know how to texture items I thought it could use an update. Here is the original post:

Maze of the Week #75 - Peter B Lewis Building Maze

Here are the enhancements I made to improve the maze:

1. Added Texture. And a lot of it. I added new texture on the bushes, to the sidewalk, and to the stone wall on the bottom right next to the entrance windows. All to make the maze look more realistic. Using a slightly different finish, I also added stone finishing to seated area in front of the bushes.

2. Fixed 2 Mistakes. I reworked the shadow off of the bottom left bushes which had bled in to the original maze. I fixed the sky bleeding into the sidewalk on the right side. Oops.

3. Widened Pathways. I changed pathway cuts from 1.5 to 2.5, so +66% larger so the maze is easier to both see and solve.

4. Color change. I de-blued the sky a bit.

So not many changes, but enough to make a difference…maybe ?

Here is the before and after:

It actually looks very similar, but if you were to download and solve it it will be much more enjoyable.

Some data: The new file is 830MB from 130MB. Much bigger.

I will be replacing the maze on the homepage with the new maze going forward. You can find the maze download there !

If you like this type of content check out all of my case studies:

A Collection of Maze Design Case Studies to Improve your Mazes

Happy maze-ing !

AI is Really Great at Solving the Marble Maze

May 24, 2025

I have written over 20 blog posts where I test AI text to image generators to see how they do making mazes (poorly). It is a lot of fun, and I have gone back and re-tested some of the same generators to see if they improved year later (they did). If you have an AI generator you like, I may have tested it. If you want a topline view of this project check these 3 main posts out where you can find links to the other posts:

Comparison of 12 AI generating websites - Who did mazes the best ?

What I learned using AI to make maze art

Making Mazes with AI - One Year Later

All of that was a set-up for something a bit different, but the same. So, while AI does a poor job making mazes, it is excellent at solving them ! And not just excellent, world record breaking ! The maze in question is the very challenging marble maze. You may have had one as a child. I have never been able to beat it. Well an open source AI robot, the CyberRunner AI robot apparently is a whiz at marble mazes. To be fair it did get 6 hours practice before the record run. Can you imagine setting a world record of ANY KIND after just 6 hours of practice ? Check out this video featuring the record vs. expert human competitors. The AI even learned to cheat (later corrected so it stopped cheating) to solve it faster using clever shortcuts.

So this makes me wonder, what things AI will be able to solve next ?

Nature is also good at solving mazes:

So a Liquid Can Solve a Maze How Exactly ?

Here are so other Marble Maze posts I have done:

Marble Mazes - A Great Gift for Kids

Check out these Wooderful life Marble Labyrinths

I first learned about this experiment in this news article: Marble Maze record

So a Liquid Can Solve a Maze How Exactly ?

May 22, 2025

Under things I never thought I would ever read, apparently there is a type of liquid that can solve a maze. Surely that is not real. But it is. If you want to make a guess what 3 things make up this concoction do it now.

The "Intelligent" Maze Solving Liquid

How it works: Scientists have created a liquid that can navigate a maze without any external guidance. This "intelligent" liquid is a mixture of soap, milk, and ink. The key is the combination of surfactants (found in soap and milk) which create a resistance gradient that guides the liquid along the correct path.
Surface Tension: The driving force behind this phenomenon is surface tension. Surfactants reduce the surface tension around the ink, initiating movement (Marangoni Flows). The milk adds another surfactant, creating a "landscape of varying resistances" that helps the liquid find the most efficient route.
- What are Marangoni Flows?

Surface Tension Gradients: Marangoni flows are the movement of fluids caused by differences in surface tension. Surface tension is the force that holds the surface of a liquid together. This movement caused by surface tension gradients is what allows the intelligent liquid to navigate the maze.
Causes of Gradients: These surface tension differences can arise from:
- Temperature Gradients: When some parts of a liquid surface are warmer than others, the warmer areas have lower surface tension.
- Concentration Gradients (WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH): Variations in the concentration of substances (like surfactants) across a liquid surface also lead to surface tension gradients

Potential Applications: This discovery could have significant implications for fluid transport in complex systems, such as drug delivery within the body or improving lung health.
Check out the video below on the maze solving phenomenon.

This is not the only way a liquid can solve a maze, but it is the most interesting! While the 'intelligent' liquid utilizes Marangoni flows, other liquids can solve mazes through different scientific principles. Here are 2 other known ways liquids can solve mazes using science.

Other Maze-Solving Liquids

Chemical Reactions: Some experiments use chemical reactions to guide liquids through mazes. For example, a liquid containing a chemical that reacts with a substance placed at the end of the maze can be used. The reaction creates a "trail" that the liquid follows.
Acids and Bases: Another approach involves using acids and bases. By placing an acid at one end of the maze and a base at the other, a liquid containing an indicator (a substance that changes color in the presence of an acid or base) can be guided through the maze as the acid and base neutralize each other.

Important Considerations for Creating Liquid Mazes

Maze Design: The design of the maze plays a crucial role in whether a liquid can solve it. Simple mazes with clear paths are easier for liquids to navigate, while more complex mazes may require specific liquid properties or chemical reactions. This sounds similar to how humans solve mazes!
Liquid Properties: The viscosity, surface tension, and chemical reactivity of the liquid are all important factors that determine its ability to solve a maze.
Experimental Setup: The way the liquid is introduced into the maze and the overall experimental setup can also influence the results.

Additional Resources