Happy National Puzzle Day!

Jenn McKinlay: Hello, Puzzlers! It's National Puzzle Day! 

No, I didn't know there was such a thing either but here we are. I love puzzles, especially jigsaw puzzles. When my brother and I built them as kids, we both hide one piece so we could be the last one to put the final piece of the puzzle in. So, yes, days could pass before the last two pieces were finally put in place and it was usually on a count of one, two, three... 

And, yes, like any good mother, I taught the Hooligans to always hide a piece as well so the stand off continues. 

I haven't had much time to do jigsaw puzzles of late, but I did achieve a record over the summer when I put together a particularly difficult butterfly puzzle in two hours when it had taken everyone else days. I'm not positive but I think it came so easily because I was a bit tipsy on Nova Scotia wine. Drunken clarity and all that 😁

Did you know jigsaw puzzles were invented by a cartographer? The Los Angeles Public Library shares this: John Spilsbury, a London cartographer, and engraver is believed to have produced the first "jigsaw" puzzle around 1760. It was a map glued to a flat piece of wood and then cut into pieces following the lines of the countries. These early puzzles were known as "dissections," and they were beneficial for teaching geography. But they were not just for children; they were a trendy pastime among the (wealthy) adults as well. Made of wood and handcrafted, only the very wealthy could afford them.

For more on the history, click HERE.

And here's another fun fact, the largest jigsaw puzzle in the world is according to the Guinness Book of World Records is this enormous lotus flower with six petals symbolizing the six areas of knowledge envisaged by the Mindmap study method: human beings, geography, history, culture, education and economy.

The puzzle, which was put together at the Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on September 24, 2011 was made up of 551,232 pieces and was completed with an overall measurement of 14.85 x 23.20 m (48 ft 8.64 in x 76 ft 1.38 in). It took 1600 students 17 hours to complete the puzzle. 

Amazing!

So, how about you, Reds and Readers, are you a puzzler? Leave a comment and one lucky reader will win this nifty crystal clear puzzle courtesy of the Jungle Red Writers! (And, no, I did not hide a piece, I swear). Winner announced on tomorrow's blog post!!! Stay tuned!

Bwa ha ha ha!!! It's a stumper!

Putting together the pieces... jigsaw

HALLIE EPHRON: Remember Mary Poppins carpet bag?

   “What a funny bag!” [Michael] said, pinching it with his fingers.
   “Carpet,” said Mary Poppins, putting her key in the lock.
   “To carry carpets in, you mean?”
   “No. Made of.”
   “Oh,” said Michael. “I see.” But he didn’t—quite.
   By this time the bag was open, and Jane and Michael were more than surprised to find it was completely empty.
   “Why,” said Jane, “there’s nothing in it!”
   “What do you mean—nothing?” demanded Mary Poppins, drawing herself up and looking as though she had been insulted. “Nothing in it, did you say?”
   And with that she took out from the empty bag a starched white apron and tied it round her waist. Next she unpacked a large cake of Sunlight Soap, a toothbrush, a packet of hairpins, a bottle of scent, a small folding armchair and a box of throat lozenges.
  Jane and Michael stared.
...
   From the carpet-bag she took out seven flannel nightgowns, four cotton ones, a pair of boots, a set of dominoes, two bathing-caps and a postcard album. Last of all came a folding camp-bedstead with blankets and eiderdown complete, and this she set down between John’s cot and Barbara’s.
-- Excerpt from Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers

There's a steamer trunk in our basement that I swear is a first-cousin to that carpetbag. The repository for wondrous stuff my husband has bought home from yard sales, it regularly belches up jigsaw puzzles.

Turns out Jerry and I make an excellent team. He soldiers on when I give up. 

So far we've done 17 of them. Here's a few...

This was the hardest...

This we finished in 10 minutes...

We've only given up on two. So far. One didn't have a picture or description on the box AND a good portion of the pieces had at least one completely flat edge. No fair!

Here's the other one we gave up on. One thousand impossible pieces.

But other than that, jigsaw puzzling has been a smashing success. Just when I'm giving up, Jerry gets a second wind.

Don't tell him, but for his birthday I bought Jerry a 500-piece Springbok puzzle. Birds.

I can't decide whether to give it to him or to hide it in that trunk and wait for him to find.