A Puzzling pastime
Winter in Wisconsin is the ideal time to pursue indoor hobbies and interests. On cold winter days, I read, solve word search puzzles, and watch sports on television while my wife, Linda, knits or works on jigsaw puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles are her favorite pastime, which she has been doing since early childhood.
When Linda and I first started dating back in 1969, we decided to find out who was better at doing jigsaw puzzles. So we each bought an identical- sized puzzle and had a contest. Whoever finished first would call the other. Within a few days, Linda called to say she was finished, and I had not even completed the outer edge. That was the last puzzle I ever did. Linda leaves her puzzles out at night, so after she goes to sleep, I get up and remove about 20 pieces that she has completed. She has been working on the same puzzle now for three years. Just kidding, but I am tempted.
The first jigsaw puzzle was created in 1760 by John Spilsbury, a London cartographer and engraver. Spilsbury glued a map to wood and cut it into pieces along country borders. These early puzzles, called 'dissected maps,' were used to teach geography. Americans now use jigsaw puzzles more than any other table game, with over 1.8 billion jigsaw puzzles sold annually.
When jigsaw puzzles were first introduced, they were expensive. Each piece was hand-cut and made from high-grade materials. However, they became more affordable for the average family as time passed. During the Depression, some small towns in America sponsored puzzle contests. Teams were formed, and contestants practiced for the big events. It was even possible to rent puzzles for between a nickel and seven cents if people needed them for practice.
There are some fascinating world records regarding jigsaw puzzles. According to braintreegames.com, in 2011, 1,600 students from the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, assembled a 551,232-piece puzzle, a lotus flower that took 17 hours to complete. In 2023, John and Kyle Marczak of Carmel, Indiana, set the record for the largest collection of jigsaw puzzles with 2,022 items. The collection includes vintage puzzles dating back to the 1940s. The title of largest jigsaw puzzle ever goes to a massive 65,905 square foot mural assembled in Dubai, United Arab Emirates according to the Guinness World Record.
I doubt Linda will ever break any of these records, but she does have a rather extensive collection of puzzles. As of today, she has 193. I am thankful that she has given away many. However, I am confident that over the coming years, she will accumulate new ones as they make wonderful birthday and Christmas gifts.
BE OUR
G UEST
BY
KEN ANDERSON “THE MAYBERRY GURU”
