Dissectology

Here is a fun fact that I didn't know. A person who loves assembling jigsaw puzzles is called a dissectologist. And they have certainly grown in numbers through the pandemic, as people complete jigsaw puzzles to occupy their time during the lockdown.

Jigsaw puzzles before and during the 19th century were called dissected maps and also known as dissected puzzles. These were wooden pictures that were hand-cut with a fret saw into irregular shaped pieces. You could then assemble these pieces together to complete the whole picture. Dissected maps was a name used because they made many of the earliest puzzles from printed maps. However, the dissected word gradually fell out of favour, becoming jigsaw puzzles in the 20th century, named after the saw used to cut the wooden puzzles.

The best way to put together a complex jigsaw puzzle is to start by sorting out the pieces into groups of edge pieces, corner pieces, and centrepieces. Next, arrange your corner pieces into a large square to form the foundation. After that, connect the edge pieces to fill in the corners until your puzzle looks like a frame. You are now on your way and can work your way in from the edges.

It should take about three to five hours per one thousand pieces to complete a jigsaw puzzle, though it can take longer as the size of the puzzle increases because you have to handle each piece more times to find the ones you want.

It can be frustrating to complete a puzzle only to find a piece missing. But, on the other hand, when a puzzle is done, there is always a feeling of accomplishment.