National Puzzle Day is an annual event that celebrates all kinds of puzzle games, from crosswords and jigsaws to word searches and Sudoku. It is observed on January 29 every year, and aims to promote the benefits of puzzles for the brain, the mind, and the social skills. In this article, we will explore the origin, the importance, and the ways of celebrating National Puzzle Day.
History
The history of National Puzzle Day can be traced back to 2002, when Jodi Jill, a syndicated newspaper puzzle maker and professional quiz writer, created this event to share her love and passion for puzzles with everyone. She wanted to raise awareness about the value of puzzles as a form of entertainment, education, and mental exercise. She also wanted to encourage people to enjoy puzzles with their friends and family, and to challenge themselves with new and different types of puzzles.
Significance
National Puzzle Day is significant because puzzles are not only fun and engaging, but also beneficial for the brain and the mind. According to various studies, puzzles can help improve memory, cognitive function, problem-solving skills, spatial reasoning, concentration, and creativity. Puzzles can also reduce stress, enhance mood, and increase self-esteem. Moreover, puzzles can foster social interaction, communication, and cooperation, as people can work on puzzles together, share tips and strategies, and celebrate their achievements.
Also Read: National Puzzle Day: The Definition, Characteristics, Role and Impact Explained
Celebrations
- There are many ways to celebrate National Puzzle Day, depending on one’s preferences and interests. Some of the common ways are:
Spending time putting together a jigsaw puzzle, either alone or with others. There are puzzles of different sizes, shapes, themes, and difficulty levels to choose from. - Completing a crossword puzzle, a word search, a Sudoku, or any other word or number puzzle. There are puzzles of various genres, topics, and languages to suit different tastes and levels of expertise.
- Playing a board game, a card game, a video game, or an online game that involves puzzles, logic, or strategy. There are games of different genres, such as trivia, mystery, adventure, fantasy, and more.
- Creating a puzzle, either by hand or using a software or an app. There are tools and resources available online to help design and generate puzzles of different kinds.
- Sharing a puzzle, either by giving it as a gift, exchanging it with someone, or posting it on social media. There are platforms and communities online where puzzle enthusiasts can share their puzzles, solutions, and feedback with others.
- Learning more about puzzles, either by reading a book, watching a documentary, listening to a podcast, or attending a workshop. There are sources and experts online and offline who can provide information and insights about the history, the science, the art, and the culture of puzzles.
Important Facts
Here are some interesting and important facts about puzzles and National Puzzle Day:
- The word puzzle comes from the Old French word pousle, which means “bewilder, confound”.
- The first jigsaw puzzle was created by John Spilsbury, a British mapmaker, in 1767. He cut a wooden map of Europe into pieces and used it as an educational tool to teach geography.
- The first crossword puzzle was published by Arthur Wynne, a British journalist, in the New York World newspaper on December 21, 1913. He called it a “word-cross” puzzle, and it had a diamond-shaped grid with 32 words.
- The first Sudoku puzzle was invented by Howard Garns, an American architect, in 1979. He called it “Number Place”, and it had a 9×9 grid with 30 numbers.
- The largest jigsaw puzzle ever made had 551,232 pieces and measured 14.85 x 23.20 meters. It was completed by 1,600 students of the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2011.
- The longest crossword puzzle ever made had 93,769 clues and 167,636 entries. It was created by Marc Breman, a British puzzle maker, in 2017. It took him four years to make and would take an average solver 46,000 hours to complete.
- The most popular puzzle game in the world is Tetris, a video game that involves fitting falling blocks of different shapes into a grid. It was created by Alexey Pajitnov, a Russian computer engineer, in 1984. It has been played by more than a billion people and has sold more than 200 million copies.
- National Puzzle Day is also known as International Puzzle Day or World Puzzle Day, as it is celebrated by puzzle lovers and organizations around the world. There are events and activities organized online and offline to mark the occasion, such as puzzle competitions, festivals, exhibitions, and workshops.
