WEBVTT - What Are The World's Biggest, Baddest Jigsaw Puzzles? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:07.240 Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:11.479 Lauren bog obam here. Even before it became a popular 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:15.400 way to while away the hours, days and weeks during isolation, 0:00:15.800 --> 0:00:20.079 putting together jigsaw puzzles was a favorite family activity. But 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.079 did you know that jigsaw puzzles have their origin in education? 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:28.760 Sir John Spillsbury, an English engraver and map maker in 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:32.080 the mid seventeen hundreds, is credited with creating the first 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:35.840 jigsaw puzzle in seventeen seventy six by attaching a map 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.680 of the world to a piece of wood, then cutting 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:42.520 the countries out. Teachers used the maps to teach geography 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:47.200 to their students, and a recreational activity was born. Spillsbury 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:51.040 would hardly recognize his creation today. In the early part 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.640 of the twentieth century, jigsaw puzzles were used as marketing tools, 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:59.080 often given away or sold for mere pennies. Today, companies 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:03.440 still use puzzles for creative marketing. Take Kodak, for instance, 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.520 it's selling what it claims is the quote world largest 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:11.480 jigsaw puzzle. We have to admit this thing is pretty huge. 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:16.560 The thousand, three hundred piece puzzle features twenty seven images 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:20.400 from around the world and when completed, measures twenty eight 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.839 point five feet by six point to five feet that's 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:27.240 eight point six meters by one point nine meters, and 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.960 this beast costs more than four hundred dollars. But all 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:35.679 due respect to the Kodak jigsaw puzzle, the world's largest 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.880 jigsaw puzzle by surface area, according to Guinness World Records, 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:44.480 was put together in Dubai in July. The puzzle was 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:47.160 an honor of the Year of Ziad, a year long 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:49.760 tribute to the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.880 the late Shahook Ziad. There were more than twelve thousand 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.360 pieces in the puzzle, which was an image of Ziad. 0:01:55.920 --> 0:02:00.320 The official record size measured sixty five thousand, nine five 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.040 point one seven square feet, which is six thousand, one 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.559 d twenty two point six eight square meters. Putting together 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.600 jigsaw puzzles is a great group activity, but one thousand, 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.200 six hundred students of the University of Economics at hot 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.960 Chimen City in Vietnam took it to the next level 0:02:17.120 --> 0:02:19.720 when they completed the jigsaw puzzle with the most pieces 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:23.160 on record, five hundred and fifty one thousand, two hundred 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.240 and thirty two to be exact. When it was finished, 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.400 the puzzle measured just over forty eight by seventy six 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:33.239 ft about fourteen by twenty three ms. It took the 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:36.640 students seventeen hours to create the massive puzzle, which featured 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:41.120 a lotus flower with six petals. But what about the 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:45.640 hardest jigsaw puzzle ever. It contains only nine pieces, and 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.919 it's called the Ice Puzzle nine. It was designed by 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:52.360 u Asaka. It includes a small board and the nine 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:55.799 pieces include right angles and curved edges that fit together 0:02:55.919 --> 0:03:00.880 in several combinations. Think Tetris, but way harder. The challenge 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:04.280 is getting the last piece to fit. It's nearly impossible 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:07.120 to fit all of the pieces on the board. It 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:11.040 took Chris Ramsay, a magician, video creator and master puzzler, 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.200 two hours and nine minutes to solve the Ice nine, 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.880 and by his own description, he was completely exhausted by 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:22.079 the end of the experience. You Asaka created another equally 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:25.680 difficult puzzle called the Jigsaw Puzzle twenty nine. The challenge 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:28.000 here is to fit twenty nine pieces into a five 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.600 by five inch that's twelve by twelve centimeter trey. It 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:35.600 comes with five corner pieces. Just let that sink in. 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.440 Then there's the largest handcut wooden jigsaw puzzle. Guinness record 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.120 held by Dave Evans in England, who created a forty thousand, 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:47.480 seven hundred and sixty three piece puzzle celebrating the Queen's 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:51.680 Diamond Jubilee. The puzzle, which featured thirty three images of 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:55.400 jubilee celebrations, was twenty by eight feet that's six by 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.720 two and a half meters when completed, though it collapsed 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:01.360 soon after Evans complete at it. It took him, in 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.560 four assistance more than sixteen days to rebuild the puzzle 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.840 and move it to Sandringham, where it went on display 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:11.280 and was confirmed as the Guinness World Record holder. We 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.920 spoke by email with Caitlin Vesper, Records manager with Guinness 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.120 World Records North America. She said one of the main 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:21.080 criteria for all Guinness World Records titles is that they 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:25.000 must be breakable. Every record title that's monitored is open 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.000 to being challenged, which allows for all kinds of record 0:04:28.000 --> 0:04:32.080 breaking opportunities all over the world. The Guinness record for 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:35.880 most jigsaw puzzle pieces tattooed on the human body belongs 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:39.640 to the aptly named Enigma sometimes known as Paul Lawrence, 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:45.200 who's a side show performer, actor and musician originally from Seattle. 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.160 Enigma set the record for having two thousand, one d 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:50.839 and twenty three puzzle pieces tattooed on his body from 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:53.880 head to toe, and no word on whether anyone comes 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:58.560 close to second. But many puzzle records are held by companies, 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:01.880 such as the record for the largest spherical jigsaw puzzle. 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.280 It measured fifteen point seven feet that's four point seven 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.599 seven meters in circumference and it was made by Unima 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:12.240 Industrial Limited in Hong Kong and featured scene from Winnie 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:16.600 the Pooh. Vesper said, brands and businesses come to us 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.480 looking to harness the power of record breaking, to commemorate 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.720 anniversaries and celebrations, or to highlight the launch of a 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:26.880 new product. Whole communities can come together to attempt a 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:30.560 new record, too, alike. In March of twenty nineteen, when 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:33.640 more than one thousand, seven hundred people formed the largest 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:38.240 human jigsaw puzzle piece on record. At first, the record 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.839 raised awareness for autism spectrum disorder. The puzzle pieces the 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:47.440 symbol for the Autism Speaks organization. Vesper explained, each Guinness 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.080 World Records title has a set of guidelines that must 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:53.159 be followed. The record for the largest human jigsaw puzzle 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:56.400 piece is a great example to highlight. This is considered 0:05:56.440 --> 0:06:00.000 one of our largest human image categories and the idea 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:01.960 it is to have a group of people gathered together 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:06.080 to form a recognizable image. We define a jigsaw puzzle 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:10.600 piece as an oddly shaped, interlocking and tesselating piece designed 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.599 to be part of a larger picture. The human image 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:16.760 to be created would need to be instantly recognizable as 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:20.480 a puzzle piece and not an entire puzzle. This record 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.039 title can be broken if another group creates the same 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:26.159 image with a larger group of people. Anybody up for 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:34.080 the challenge. Today's episode was written by Patty Resmusen and 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.599 produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:38.839 of other not so puzzling topics, is it how stuff 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:41.920 works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.080 More podcasts for my heart Radio is the iHeart Radio app, 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.880 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.