The puzzle, which is considered to have been first made in 1760, was invented by John Spilsbury, a London mapmaker.
Spilsbury placed the world map on a hard board and sawed the borders of the country with a saw so that students could use it in their geography lessons. It started to be called the "jigsaw puzzle" because it was first cut with a saw.
John Spilsbury (1739 – 3 April 1769) was a British cartographer and engraver. He is credited as the inventor of the jigsaw puzzle. Spilsbury created them for educational purposes, and called them "Dissected Maps".
Although the first known inventor was John Spilsbury, the absence of a patent application of his own and the patent applications made many years after its emergence indicate the opposite.
The puzzle, which we take for relaxation these days and maybe even more stressed, showed itself in the patent application filed by Karen E Meyer in 1989. In this patent application filed by Karen E Meyer, it appears that it consists of a jigsaw puzzle of vertical columns and rows and a plurality of outer straight edge pieces, completely irregular convex and concave curved pieces that define the perimeter of said puzzle.
Looking at the features in the patent application, it is obvious that a classic puzzle structure is completely accommodated.
The best-selling puzzle in the world is "Cafe Terrace at Night" by Van Gogh.
As its prevalence and fame increased, its varieties increased over the years and patent applications for versions with different features took its place in history. A type of puzzle patented by INVENTI LTD in 2001 is also defined as “a two-dimensional puzzle containing a large number of pieces, each with a main body made of memory foam”. Each main body mentioned in the patent application includes an adhesive layer extending over it and a flexible layer adhered to it. In short, this puzzle structure, awarded with a patent by the INVENTI company, is two-dimensional and can be bent without any of its pieces leaving the puzzle.
In addition to the examples given above, three-dimensional puzzles, magnetic puzzles and more have already been patented and entered our lives. Although the increasing number of pieces and the decreasing piece sizes in direct proportion to this increase increase our stress level, our message to our dear puzzle lovers is: Do not lose your determination!