# Ancient Web: Jaap Scherphuis Kept Puzzles and Psions on One Site Jaap Scherphuis's Scratch Pad preserves a sprawling personal research library of twisty puzzles, Psion handheld computers, mechanical calculators, and old downloadable tools. 2026-10-02 :: Switchboard Tech Services ![Ancient Web: Jaap Scherphuis Kept Puzzles and Psions on One Site](https://switchboardtechservices.com/static/images/defaults/articles.webp) Part of the [Ancient Web Collection](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/ancient-web-collection/). Some personal websites settle on one niche. **Jaap Scherphuis** appears to have decided that puzzles, pocket computers, and mechanical adding machines were already a sufficiently narrow collection of interests. [Visit Jaap's Scratch Pad](https://www.jaapsch.net/index.htm) The main page calls the website a collection of sub-sites about topics that interest its creator. It points to **Jaap's Puzzle Page**, a **Psion Organiser II** reference, a mechanical-calculator catalogue, mathematical tilings, and materials about the Gathering for Gardner. A few small experiments, downloads, and older mobile-phone programs are filed below the larger sections. The result is a rare example of a continuing personal technical site whose archives have not been merged into a generic blog feed. You can choose a topic and discover a whole independent miniature reference work. ## A puzzle is a machine that asks a question [Jaap's Puzzle Page](https://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/index.htm) organizes twisty puzzles and other mechanical challenges by their mechanisms. It provides solutions, move sequences, histories, photographs, and information about patents. A separate [15-puzzle essay](https://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/fifteen.htm) works through an old sliding-tile problem rather than simply offering a quick solution. The [Psion Organiser II archive](https://www.jaapsch.net/psion/index.htm) has a different purpose: preserving hardware and programming information for a distinctive 1980s pocket computer. The [mechanical calculators section](https://www.jaapsch.net/mechcalc/index.htm) follows such machines as the Curta and Comptometer, with pictures and detailed descriptions. Some files are unmistakably from another software era. The homepage still offers a **Java applet Sudoku generator**, legacy files for a **Nokia 6021**, and a recorded voicemail left in **2002**. Large downloadable ZIP archives let readers keep copies of the puzzle pages, patent files, or gallery. Those dates show old material preserved by the site, but the homepage does **not** establish its exact founding year. That is a reason to avoid inventing one, not a reason to miss what is actually there. The site is valuable as a collection of original explanations and personal expertise. Its strongest feature is continuity: the same straightforward index can guide you from a Rubik's Cube to a programmable pocket device without an account, a content recommendation, or an apology for being interested in both. [Browse Jaap's Puzzle Page](https://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/index.htm) and [the Psion Organiser reference](https://www.jaapsch.net/psion/index.htm). Part of the [Ancient Web Collection](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/ancient-web-collection/). - Categories: [Ancient Web](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/categories/ancient-web/) - Tags: [#ancientweb](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/ancientweb/), [#personalweb](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/personalweb/), [#calculators](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/calculators/), [#puzzles](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/puzzles/), [#psion](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/psion/) [Articles RSS](https://switchboardtechservices.com/feeds/articles.xml "Subscribe using an RSS reader") --- Canonical URL: https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/ancient-web-jaap-scherphuis-kept-puzzles-and-psions-on-one-site/ Language: en-us Content type: article Author: Switchboard Tech Services Published: 2026-10-02T07:41:27+00:00 Modified: 2026-10-18T21:03:26.207389+00:00