The hunt for gold has driven mankind to do some very silly things, but this contest is definitely one of the strangest cases ever.

It takes place on the tiny Japanese island of Sado, where a historic gold mine operated for almost 400 years. Since it closed in the 1980s the mine has been turned into a museum, and along with lessons about the island's history it holds a world-famous challenge for visitors.

The Sado Brick is a 27-pound solid gold brick, housed in a glass case. The contest is very simple: if you can reach through the 3.3 inch hole and pull out the brick (which is 3 inches wide at the base) you get a special prize. It's deceptively simple, which is why it draws so many eager contestants.

Unfortunately, once they get their hands on the solid brick they realize just how hard it is to pull it (and your hand) through the tiny hole. The challenge was so notoriously difficult that a TV host was called in to prove it was even possible.

In Japan, the hosts of the TV show Knight Scoop are famous for helping to solve seemingly impossible mysteries and problems.

The gold bar challenge seemed right up their alley, but even the "detective" assigned to the case found it was a lot tougher than he expected. In the end he resorted to asking other museum visitors to help him.

With some less-than-helpful advice from the museum guide ("If you use your whole hand, your hand gets in the way.") the team of contestants managed to solve the problem through trial and (lots of) error.

In the end this challenge is a good reminder that even things that seem impossible have simple solutions. It's too bad the winner couldn't take his gold bar home (it would be worth at least $200,000 today), but leaving with his solid gold card was nice enough.

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