Enjoy More ‘Eureka!’ Moments With Jigsaw Puzzles
Whether made of cardboard or sculpted out of wood, jigsaw puzzles test skills like spatial reasoning and can help to stave off anxiety. They can also be works of art in their own right.
Credit.Joe Lingeman for The New York Times
Dec. 12, 2020
Back in March, when hand sanitizer evaporated, toilet paper shortages loomed and in parts of New York City, cans of Lysol couldn’t be had for love or any reasonable amount of money, another commodity flew from shelves and warehouse pallets: jigsaw puzzles.
What explains the craze? “Life is full of puzzles,” Nick Baxter, who chairs a puzzle design competition, said. “Those real-life puzzles aren’t very fun. They aren’t elegant.” But a jigsaw puzzle, he said, is designed to have a satisfying conclusion. “It’s there to make you feel good.”