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Ever
go into somebody’s dining room, kitchen or den and
find a half-finished puzzle on the table? It doesn’t
take a flat-out puzzle freak to get that overwhelming
urge to fit in another piece or two. Oh, uh, just being
helpful, you know. But what makes puzzles so
irresistible? That’s the real puzzle. Whose
fault is it anyway? Who invented
puzzles in the first place? Jigsaw puzzles have been around for
about 235 years. The earliest forms of this popular and
profitable pastime appeared simultaneously in France and
in England around 1760. They consisted of a picture
pasted onto stiff cardboard and then cut into irregularly
shaped pieces. Originally, the pictures were educational,
with lessons for the youngsters and historical or
geographical information for the adults of the rising
bourgeoisie.
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