Finding solutions to puzzling times
© iStock/Brightstars

Mental Exercise in These Historic Times

As the daily news proclaims, the world is experiencing something completely unique to recent history . . . and deadly serious. There is no doubt that the corona virus is changing our lives.

We are living the meaning of words and phrases such as pandemic, lockdown, social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine, self-sequestering, confinement, and sheltering in place.

We are seeing government regulations in the news, as well as lists of ways to work remotely or pass the time if we have been asked to stay at home for isolation purposes.

Social distancing at the weekend Paris market
© Meredith Mullins

We read about people in isolation drinking “quarantinis,” exploring new songs by which to wash their hands, and stepping to their windows or balconies to sing together as a neighborhood or to applaud the front-line health care workers.

Those in isolation are challenging the capacity of the internet with streaming services and social media posts and cleaning their closets a la Marie Kondo (although, I think perhaps lots of things will “spark joy” when you are in isolation for weeks).

A good way to pass the time in self-isolation
© DMT

Challenging the Brain

Even before this global pandemic, I had been thinking about our cultural heritage of entertainment with puzzles—jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, crossword puzzles, number puzzles, visual puzzles—across countries and across cultures.

And now that we have more time to ourselves, the subject seems even more relevant.

It has long been said that working with puzzles helps to keep our brains functioning better for longer. Mental exercise for the brain is useful (as is physical exercise).

Can you guess from these puzzle pieces what artwork will be portrayed?
(Keep reading for the answer.)
© DMT

Puzzles can be family/friend/community activities or an individual challenge. What better way to pass those cold winter nights; rainy days; or, at this scary moment in history, the long hours of “sheltering in place.”

Let’s take a moment to pay tribute to the more common puzzle options: the jigsaw, the crossword, and Sudoku, as well as new trending puzzles.

The good old days of the family puzzle party
© DMT

The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Things Together

Jigsaw puzzles have been around since the mid-1700s. Most historians give origin credit to a British cartographer/engraver (John Spilsbury), who mounted maps on wood and then cut around the countries. He is said to have called his work “dissected maps,” used most often for teaching geography.

Children still learn geography with jigsaw puzzles.
© DMT

Fast forward a few centuries to game companies mass producing puzzles, which became particularly popular during the Great Depression in America as an inexpensive entertainment option and a way to feel success (during hard times) when a difficult puzzle was completed. You could even rent a puzzle or check one out of the library.

Whether in the past, present, or future, the completion of a jigsaw puzzle
always inspires a moment of pride.
© DMT

Still maintaining popularity in the 21^st century, puzzles can now be personalized to reflect your own photo, can incorporate 3-D technology, can be presented on computer, and can offer pictorial content limited only by the imagination.

The best news: jigsaw puzzles are cross-cultural. Visual images have no language barriers, and can be enjoyed in countries throughout the world.

The number and size of pieces range from small puzzles with just a few pieces (especially for children), to the largest (more than 50,000 pieces).

Any guesses now?
© DMT

And, for those passionate jigsaw fanatics, strategies and approaches abound. After turning all the pieces face up (a good start to begin to get the “big picture”), puzzlers might sort by color, pattern, content, or type of piece (from zero-knob and four-holed pieces to four-knob and zero-holed pieces . . . and everything in between).

A good beginning. A three-knob/one-hole piece meets a two-hole/two-knob piece.
© DMT

Some jigsaw addicts even like having a puzzle delivered in an unmarked plastic bag with no picture—the ultimate challenge.

Here is Ellen DeGeneres’ take on jigsaw puzzles, as she passes her “sheltering in place” time.

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They don’t call me Ellen “Not Stupid” DeGeneres for nothing.

A post shared by Ellen DeGeneres (@theellenshow) on Mar 16, 2020 at 7:04pm PDT

If video does not display, watch it here.

Not at a Loss for Words

Crossword puzzles are perhaps the most popular word game in the world. Although word puzzles appeared in the late 18^th century in America and Europe, historians credit British journalist Arthur Wynne with a crossword’s first widespread publication in the Sunday edition of the New York World in 1913.

Crosswords forever
© iStock/burakkarademir

The word FUN was already inserted into the “word-cross” puzzle, perhaps a foreshadowing of the popularity to come. Another vague clue in this first appearance (“What this puzzle is”) was also perhaps a signal of things to come. The four-letter answer was: HARD.

The ever-popular crossword puzzle
© Meredith Mullins

The New York Times, now a renowned publication of one of the most challenging contemporary crosswords, denied the attraction of the early puzzles.

It wasn’t until the bombing of Pearl Harbor that the Times Sunday editor thought the nation needed some distraction. On February 15, 1942, the first Sunday crossword appeared in the NY Times; and, by 1950, the paper ran a daily crossword puzzle.

Crossword puzzles are a good mental workout for the brain.
© iStock/Andreas Saldavs

Even though the Times is known worldwide as the pre-eminent crossword puzzle, there are several viable competitors in publications around the world. And, for a double dose of brain activity, try a crossword puzzle in a new language.

Crossword puzzles are a good tool for learning a language.
© Meredith Mullins

Does the Math Add Up?

Sudoku is the ultimate international puzzle. Its origin can be traced from China to Persia to Europe to America to Japan. It bypasses language barriers, as it is number based. It’s accessible to all . . . it just asks for a logical mind.

Although the “magic square” was present in China more than two thousand years ago, a Swiss mathematician (Leonhard Euler) is credited with the first stirrings of what is now Sudoku. At the time (the late 1700s), it was called Latin Squares. It had letters rather than numbers, but the mathematical process was similar.

In 1979, an American (Howard Garnes) created the number puzzle we know today. It was called Number Place and was published by Dell Puzzle Magazines. He made the puzzle interesting by making a grid of nine 3 x 3 magic squares.

The Sudoku format
© Meredith Mullins

Once it became popular in Japan, in part because the Japanese language is not suited to crossword puzzles, the name Number Place was translated to Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru, meaning “numbers must occur only once.”

When a retired British judge (Wayne Gould) developed a computer program for producing Sudoku puzzles quickly and introduced the game to UK newspapers, the puzzle’s popularity exploded.

Now, Sudoku is everywhere—in newspapers, magazines, puzzle books, grand championships, TV shows, mobile apps, and, of course, on the Internet.

Presents of Mind: Contemporary Puzzle Challenges

There are hundreds more types of puzzles to keep us busy. Rubik’s Cube, Spelling Bee, Jumble, Tiles, Find the Difference (aka Sept erreurs in French), and SET®, to name a few. With the availability of puzzles free on the Internet, these challenges are there for the taking.

Can you find the things that are different in these pictures?
© iStock/Alexandra Yurkina

In fact, I might have gotten this story written sooner, had I not paused to try my brain at every new kind of puzzle I encountered in my research.

My latest discovery was SET® (found via the New York Times). I have to admit that, now, I’m an addict. I stare at those shapes, patterns, numbers, and colors for hours.

I knew from IQ tests that spatial reasoning was not one of my strengths, so it was no surprise that my brain hurt from going back and forth between the similarities and differences in the forms, patterns, colors, and numbers.

Just like life, you step back, regroup, learn, and develop new strategies. I have already improved after only a few days; and I know, with practice, I will get better.

Oh, I see. That’s really the heart of our cultural heritage.

The added benefit: my brain gets its mental workout—and will hopefully work better for longer. And the time in self-isolation will fly by, with a hope that our cultural tradition of resilience will rise to the challenge.

That moment of pride when you complete a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle.
What’s next? A 2,000 piece puzzle.
© DMT

We know that our OIC readers live around the world. We wish you health and safety during this challenging time.

 For more jeux des sept erreurs, visit Turbulus. 

For online Sudoku, visit this Sudoku site. 

For free crossword puzzles, go to online crosswords or to the New York Times mini crossword.

To play SET®, go to the New York Times site.

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