Puzzles A history

Puzzles in various forms are laced through world history. Evidence of puzzles occurs from many historic times and areas. For example it is suggested that puzzles, riddles and rhymes were used as entertainment during Ancient Greece, the winners of such games were also rewarded with a crown of laurel leaves. Evidence of Tibetan monks, completing maths problems on the walls of caves has been found and in Persia it is thought that riddles and puzzles were a kept component in their religious practices. In fact this is the case for many religions, in many key scriptures. Evidence even suggests that riddle completions were held in the remote Fiji Islands!

The first jigsaw puzzle was created as a teaching method by a mapmaker and engraver. A man from Britain in 1720, mounted a map onto wood and made each country into a hand sawed jigsaw piece. He used it as a means of teaching geography! Crosswords first appeared in 1890 in an Italian newspaper, missing were the shaded squares but it was a 4 by 4 grid with horizontal and vertical clues. In the 3rd century BC, the first mechanical puzzle was made in Greece.

It was a wooden cube cut into 14 pieces and the aim was to create different shapes with the pieces. “Puzzle locks” were created in Iran around the 17th century, and the Tangram puzzle became popular in china in the 1800’s eventually reaching America and Europe! Development in both puzzles and technology has grown ever since and had lead to things such as the Rubik Cube, something that nearly every family has owned at some point!