Top 10 facts about jigsaw puzzles

Today is being celebrated by Wentworth Wooden Puzzles as the UK’s first National Jigsaw Day

November 2 is being celebrated by Wentworth Wooden Puzzles as the UK’s first National Jigsaw Day.

 

1. The first jigsaw puzzles were made in 1760 by Berkshire map-maker John Spilsbury. They were maps of the British Empire cut in pieces. 

2. He called them “Dissected Maps”. The first known use of the term “jigsaw puzzle” was in 1909. 

 

3. The term “jig-saw”, however, for a vertical saw operated by a crank, dates back to 1873. 

4. The jigsaw puzzle with the most pieces is believed to be one consisting of 551,232 pieces made in 2011 at a university in Vietnam.

 

5. US sideshow performer “The Enigma” (Paul Lawrence) has the surface of his body divided by tattoos into 2,123 jigsaw pieces. 

The first jigsaw puzzles were made in 1760 by Berkshire map-maker John Spilsbury  

6. The largest commercial jigsaw puzzle went on sale in 2011 and contained 32,256 pieces. 

7. The Guinness world record for completing their official 250-piece jigsaw is 13min 7sec. 

 

The largest commercial jigsaw puzzle went on sale in 2011 and contained 32,256 pieces

8. The name of the puppet used by killer known as Jigsaw in the Saw horror movies is Billy. 

9. The time it takes to finish a jigsaw is roughly in proportion to the square of the number of pieces, so doubling the pieces quadruples the difficulty. 

 

The name of the puppet used by killer known as Jigsaw in the Saw horror movies is Billy

10. The Rolling Stones released a song called Jigsaw Puzzle in 1968

Details may be found at wentworthpuzzles.com

  

The Rolling Stones released a song called Jigsaw Puzzle in 1968