Jigsaw puzzles began as maps cut along national borders to teach geography

historyWikipediac. 1760 · England

Jigsaw puzzles began as maps cut along national borders to teach geography

the gist

John Spilsbury is believed to have produced the first commercial jigsaw around 1760, using a marquetry saw. Earlier, the French educator Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont taught with 'wooden maps' from 1759, and early puzzles were maps mounted on hardwood and cut along national boundaries. Royal governess Lady Charlotte Finch used these dissected maps to teach the children of King George III. The name jigsaw came around 1880, when fretsaws became the tool for cutting the shapes. A craze among American adults ran from 1907 to 1910, and puzzles became popular again during the Great Depression and the COVID-19 lockdowns.

how it works

Early puzzles were made by gluing a map onto hardwood and cutting it along the lines of countries, so each piece was a region. Later makers used fretsaws and scroll saws to cut irregular shapes, and interlocking pieces came later. Those shapes make the puzzle a test of pattern recognition as well as a visual game.

so what

Jigsaws are a reminder that learning and play were once the same thing. Their popularity surges have tracked hard times, when a cheap, long-lasting activity was valuable.

the bigger pattern

Puzzles have repeatedly boomed when people had time and little money, from the poor economy of 1907 to the Great Depression and the pandemic stay-at-home orders. Cheap, long-lasting entertainment tends to thrive in hard times.

fun fact

Early jigsaw puzzles were called dissections, a name that reflected how they were first made: maps cut apart.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗