We have shared interesting puzzle trivia before, but the world of puzzles is deep and full of surprises. To keep the tradition alive, we’ve dug up 16 more puzzle facts that will blow your mind and keep you hooked on your favorite hobby.
From accidental inventions to national security threats, here is the secret history of puzzles.
1. The Rubik’s Cube Was an Accident
Ernő Rubik didn't set out to create the world's most famous toy. He originally designed the wooden cube to help his architecture students understand 3D objects. He only realized he had created a puzzle after he scrambled it and couldn't figure out how to put it back together!
2. Gamers Solved a Medical Mystery in 3 Weeks
In 2011, players of the online puzzle game Foldit achieved the impossible. They deciphered the crystal structure of a retroviral protease (an enzyme involved in an AIDS-like disease in monkeys).
3. ...After Scientists Failed for 13 Years
To add to the previous fact: Scientists had been struggling to solve the structure of that enzyme for over a decade. The collective brainpower of puzzle gamers cracked the code in less than a month.
4. You Can Get a Degree in Puzzles
There is currently only one person in the world with a Ph.D. in Enigmatology (the study of puzzles). Will Shortz, the famous New York Times crossword editor, designed his own major at Indiana University in 1974.
5. Spies Use Puzzles for Recruiting
Intelligence agencies and tech companies are known to release complex puzzles to find top-tier talent. The most famous example is "Cicada 3301," a mysterious internet puzzle series used to recruit elite codebreakers and linguists.
6. The Great Depression’s Cheap Entertainment
Jigsaw puzzles saw a massive boom during the Great Depression. With high unemployment and low incomes, families needed cheap, reusable, and time-consuming entertainment. Puzzles fit the bill perfectly.
7. The Golden Hare Treasure Hunt
In 1979, British artist Kit Williams published a book titled Masquerade, containing complex riddles leading to the location of a buried 18-karat gold hare pendant. It sparked a global treasure hunt that lasted nearly three years and ended in a cloud of controversy and scandal.
8. The Crossword That Scared the Military
In 1944, a series of crossword puzzles in The Daily Telegraph contained code names for the secret D-Day operation (words like "Utah," "Omaha," and "Neptune"). MI-5 agents raided the puzzle creator's home, fearing a leak. It turned out to be a massive, unlucky coincidence!
9. Lewis Carroll Invented "Word Ladders"
The author of Alice in Wonderland wasn't just a writer; he was a logician. Lewis Carroll invented the "Word Ladder" puzzle (changing one letter at a time to get from a start word to an end word) on Christmas Day, 1877.
10. In Canada, Math is Required to Win
If you win a lottery or sweepstakes in Canada, you aren't legally entitled to the prize until you solve a "skill-testing question"—usually a math equation. This is to work around gambling laws, classifying the win as a game of skill rather than pure chance.
11. The Unclaimed $2 Million Prize
In 2007, the Eternity II puzzle was released with a $2 million prize for the first person to solve it. Despite the massive reward, the puzzle was so difficult that the deadline passed in 2010 without a winner. The prize money was never claimed.
12. The Origin of "Thinking Outside the Box"
This famous business phrase comes from a classic topographical puzzle where you must connect 9 dots, arranged in a square, using only four straight lines without lifting your pencil. The only way to solve it is to draw lines that extend outside the imaginary box the dots create.
13. The Hardest Video Game Puzzle?
While debatable, many gamers consider the original King’s Quest series to contain some of the most obscure and difficult logic puzzles in video game history, often requiring players to guess commands that had no logical cues.
14. Sudoku is Actually American
Before it became a Japanese phenomenon, Sudoku was invented in the United States under the name "Number Place" in the late 1970s. It didn't gain global fame until it traveled to Japan, was renamed Sudoku, and then returned to the West.
15. The "Lights" in the Puzzle
In crossword terminology, the white squares where you write the letters are formally known as "lights," while the black shaded squares are called "darks." The lights are what guide the puzzler toward the solution!
16. Prader-Willi Syndrome and Puzzles
Research has shown that people with Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, often exhibit exceptional aptitude for jigsaw puzzles. Despite potential cognitive challenges in other areas, many can solve puzzles three times faster than the average person.
Get Puzzle Ready
Knowing these facts makes the hobby even more interesting, but nothing beats the satisfaction of placing that final piece yourself.
Here at Puzzle Ready, we understand that you need the right tools to enjoy the experience. We aim to bring family and friends together for moments of fun, which is why we designed the ultimate Portable Puzzle Board.
Our board allows you to keep your puzzle creations organized in one place. It features a removable cover mat, so you can tuck your unfinished puzzle away under a couch or bed for safekeeping without losing a single piece. It’s a mat, a workspace, and a storage unit all in one.
Check out the Puzzle Ready Board today—a true must-have for the avid puzzle lover.