It’s National Puzzle Day! How are you celebrating? Are you solving a crossword or sudoku? Putting together a jigsaw puzzle? Or are you finally conquering that Rubik’s Cube you’ve had since 1982?
Here are some fascinating things about puzzles you might not know!
1. The word ‘puzzle’ actually has a somewhat puzzling origin. It seems to have entered popular use towards the end of the 16th century, first appearing as a verb, not a noun. It’s believed to have grown out of the Medieval French word, “pusle” which means ‘to bewilder’.
2. The history of crossword puzzles is similarly in dispute. Having existed in some form since the 1800s, the first puzzle that would be recognized as a crossoword was published on December 21, 1913 by Arthur Wynne in the newspaper The New York World.
3. Sudoku puzzles have actually only been around since 1979. Invented by Howard Garns, a 74 year old retired architect the first modern sudoku puzzle was published as “Number Place” in Dell Magazines. Sadly, Garns passed away before he was able to see the puzzle’s explosion in popularity in the late 1990s.
4. The world’s largest Rubik’s Cube, which is a 17x17x17 grid, took a man named Kenneth Brandon 7.5 hours to solve!
5. The world’s largest jigsaw puzzle is known as the Double Restrospect and was drawn by artist Keith Haring. It’s 17 feet wide and contains 32,000 pieces.
So are you ready to celebrate National Puzzle Day? If so, be sure to check out all of the fantastic puzzle games on offer at jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and of course sudoku as well. Or if word searches are more your speed, be sure to check out Word Search Daily, which is completely free!
What are you waiting for? Get to puzzling ASAP and enjoy National Puzzle Day!