1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: Lauren bog obam here. Even before it became a popular 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: way to while away the hours, days and weeks during isolation, 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: putting together jigsaw puzzles was a favorite family activity. But 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: did you know that jigsaw puzzles have their origin in education? 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: Sir John Spillsbury, an English engraver and map maker in 7 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: the mid seventeen hundreds, is credited with creating the first 8 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: jigsaw puzzle in seventeen seventy six by attaching a map 9 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: of the world to a piece of wood, then cutting 10 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: the countries out. Teachers used the maps to teach geography 11 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 1: to their students, and a recreational activity was born. Spillsbury 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: would hardly recognize his creation today. In the early part 13 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century, jigsaw puzzles were used as marketing tools, 14 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: often given away or sold for mere pennies. Today, companies 15 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: still use puzzles for creative marketing. Take Kodak, for instance, 16 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: it's selling what it claims is the quote world largest 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: jigsaw puzzle. We have to admit this thing is pretty huge. 18 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: The thousand, three hundred piece puzzle features twenty seven images 19 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: from around the world and when completed, measures twenty eight 20 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,839 Speaker 1: point five feet by six point to five feet that's 21 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: eight point six meters by one point nine meters, and 22 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: this beast costs more than four hundred dollars. But all 23 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: due respect to the Kodak jigsaw puzzle, the world's largest 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: jigsaw puzzle by surface area, according to Guinness World Records, 25 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: was put together in Dubai in July. The puzzle was 26 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: an honor of the Year of Ziad, a year long 27 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: tribute to the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, 28 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: the late Shahook Ziad. There were more than twelve thousand 29 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: pieces in the puzzle, which was an image of Ziad. 30 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: The official record size measured sixty five thousand, nine five 31 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: point one seven square feet, which is six thousand, one 32 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,559 Speaker 1: d twenty two point six eight square meters. Putting together 33 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: jigsaw puzzles is a great group activity, but one thousand, 34 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: six hundred students of the University of Economics at hot 35 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: Chimen City in Vietnam took it to the next level 36 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: when they completed the jigsaw puzzle with the most pieces 37 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: on record, five hundred and fifty one thousand, two hundred 38 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: and thirty two to be exact. When it was finished, 39 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: the puzzle measured just over forty eight by seventy six 40 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 1: ft about fourteen by twenty three ms. It took the 41 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: students seventeen hours to create the massive puzzle, which featured 42 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: a lotus flower with six petals. But what about the 43 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: hardest jigsaw puzzle ever. It contains only nine pieces, and 44 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: it's called the Ice Puzzle nine. It was designed by 45 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: u Asaka. It includes a small board and the nine 46 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: pieces include right angles and curved edges that fit together 47 00:02:55,919 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: in several combinations. Think Tetris, but way harder. The challenge 48 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: is getting the last piece to fit. It's nearly impossible 49 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: to fit all of the pieces on the board. It 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: took Chris Ramsay, a magician, video creator and master puzzler, 51 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: two hours and nine minutes to solve the Ice nine, 52 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: and by his own description, he was completely exhausted by 53 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: the end of the experience. You Asaka created another equally 54 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: difficult puzzle called the Jigsaw Puzzle twenty nine. The challenge 55 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: here is to fit twenty nine pieces into a five 56 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: by five inch that's twelve by twelve centimeter trey. It 57 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: comes with five corner pieces. Just let that sink in. 58 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: Then there's the largest handcut wooden jigsaw puzzle. Guinness record 59 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: held by Dave Evans in England, who created a forty thousand, 60 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: seven hundred and sixty three piece puzzle celebrating the Queen's 61 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: Diamond Jubilee. The puzzle, which featured thirty three images of 62 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: jubilee celebrations, was twenty by eight feet that's six by 63 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: two and a half meters when completed, though it collapsed 64 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: soon after Evans complete at it. It took him, in 65 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: four assistance more than sixteen days to rebuild the puzzle 66 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: and move it to Sandringham, where it went on display 67 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: and was confirmed as the Guinness World Record holder. We 68 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: spoke by email with Caitlin Vesper, Records manager with Guinness 69 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: World Records North America. She said one of the main 70 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: criteria for all Guinness World Records titles is that they 71 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: must be breakable. Every record title that's monitored is open 72 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: to being challenged, which allows for all kinds of record 73 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: breaking opportunities all over the world. The Guinness record for 74 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: most jigsaw puzzle pieces tattooed on the human body belongs 75 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: to the aptly named Enigma sometimes known as Paul Lawrence, 76 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: who's a side show performer, actor and musician originally from Seattle. 77 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: Enigma set the record for having two thousand, one d 78 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: and twenty three puzzle pieces tattooed on his body from 79 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: head to toe, and no word on whether anyone comes 80 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: close to second. But many puzzle records are held by companies, 81 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: such as the record for the largest spherical jigsaw puzzle. 82 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: It measured fifteen point seven feet that's four point seven 83 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: seven meters in circumference and it was made by Unima 84 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: Industrial Limited in Hong Kong and featured scene from Winnie 85 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: the Pooh. Vesper said, brands and businesses come to us 86 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: looking to harness the power of record breaking, to commemorate 87 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: anniversaries and celebrations, or to highlight the launch of a 88 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: new product. Whole communities can come together to attempt a 89 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: new record, too, alike. In March of twenty nineteen, when 90 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: more than one thousand, seven hundred people formed the largest 91 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: human jigsaw puzzle piece on record. At first, the record 92 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: raised awareness for autism spectrum disorder. The puzzle pieces the 93 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: symbol for the Autism Speaks organization. Vesper explained, each Guinness 94 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: World Records title has a set of guidelines that must 95 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: be followed. The record for the largest human jigsaw puzzle 96 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: piece is a great example to highlight. This is considered 97 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: one of our largest human image categories and the idea 98 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: it is to have a group of people gathered together 99 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: to form a recognizable image. We define a jigsaw puzzle 100 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:10,600 Speaker 1: piece as an oddly shaped, interlocking and tesselating piece designed 101 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: to be part of a larger picture. The human image 102 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: to be created would need to be instantly recognizable as 103 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,480 Speaker 1: a puzzle piece and not an entire puzzle. This record 104 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: title can be broken if another group creates the same 105 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: image with a larger group of people. Anybody up for 106 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: the challenge. Today's episode was written by Patty Resmusen and 107 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots 108 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: of other not so puzzling topics, is it how stuff 109 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. 110 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: More podcasts for my heart Radio is the iHeart Radio app, 111 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.