a.k.a. Creative Puzzle Ball
Patented by U. Meffert 1994; purchased from Mefferts.com 2005.
(plastic, 3 inches, keychain is 1.5 inches)
This puzzle rotates about the center along 4 different planes that partition the surface into 8 triangles and six squares. Rotation has click stops but is not symmetric in that if you split a ring in half by turning half the puzzle 180 degrees, you don't end up in a click stop. Internally, it uses a mechanism equivalent to the skewb cube. Here's what Meffert's says about the puzzle:
"The 3-D Puzzle Ball moves a group of three squares and four triangles through 120 degrees by rotating around the triangle at the center of the group. It has precision injection moulded parts with spring-loaded bearings which make operation easy and exact; this is a puzzle which definitely won't fall apart in your hands. The idea of the puzzle is to scramble the colors and then return them to the initial state. You may also want to make pretty patterns with it as well though. The Beach Ball Puzzle is difficult enough to be a real challenge, but easy enough to master, without help, in a few days. Just in case you do have difficulty in solving the Puzzle, a solution booklet is included with the puzzle."
Further reading:
Jaap's Page, from: http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/beachbll.htm
Meffert's Page, from: http://www.mefferts.com/puzzles/creasol.html
Meffert Patent, from www.uspto.gov - patent no. 4,474,376
