Hamburger Jigsaw Puzzle: This Hamburger Requires Your Kids to Play With Their Food
You must have seen several mothers telling their kids “do not play with your food”. I guess they wouldn’t say the same for this piece of delicious looking hamburger. On the contrary mothers would prefer their kids playing with the same. However, it is a pity this hamburger will never make it your dinner table because this hamburger is a 53 piece jigsaw puzzle created as food for your brains rather than your tummy.
The Oxford English dictionary defines a jigsaw puzzle as ‘a puzzle consisting of a picture printed on cardboard or wood and cut into numerous interlocking shapes that have to be fitted together’. Our hamburger puzzle is a little deviation from this definition. Instead of being printed on a board it is a three dimensional figure in itself which makes it all the more intriguing. Suited to satisfy all age groups this yummy cheesy burger has beef, pickle slices and melted cheese sandwiched in a burger bun; the only sad thing –they are not real.
The credit for the first commercializing jigsaw puzzles has been attributed to a London mapmaker and engraver John Splisbury. Around 1760 Spilsbury mounted a map on a hardwood sheet and cut along the borders of the countries. This was to be used as and educational aide to teach geography to children. For the first time in the late 1800s cardboard puzzles were introduced. By the 20th century the process of die-casting was developed. In this process thin strips of sharpened metal, twisted in complex designs, were pressed against a picture mounted cardboard sheet. The sharp edges produced pieces of the picture and thereby a jigsaw puzzle.
Jigsaw puzzles, since then, have come a long way. Primarily produced for children for educational purposes they are now a form of enjoyment equally popular among adults. The number of pieces in a jigsaw can vary according to the target audience. The level of difficulty increases with the increase in number of pieces. The largest jigsaw puzzle to date is a 24,000 piece puzzle measuring 428cm by 157cm. Going a step ahead, from the two dimensional puzzles there are now jigsaw puzzles that come in three dimensions, similar to our hamburger puzzle. Puzzles are also created for computer games; however the concept remains the same – pieces of a picture are to be joined to produce a complete picture – but the execution is different. That was a lot about jigsaws and by now I guess you are hungry enough to have a real hamburger. Take care not to mistake your puzzle for a real one. You might end up with broken teeth or a broken puzzle.