Are you a dissectologist?

This is a term used to describe jigsaw puzzlers or puzzle enthusiasts.

We are also called puzzlers and solutionist. In other words, people who love to do jigsaw puzzles.

I read recently that nearly half of all Americans puzzle for fun, to relax, to relieve stress and to get a great brain boost, especially senior citizens.

Puzzling has been around since the dawn of time. It has been said that a Greek mathematician puzzled around 250 B.C. to solve geometry problems. He cut a wooden square into 14 pieces and then put them together to see how many ways they would fit together.

John Spilsbury in 1767 invented the first jigsaw puzzle. He used his jigsaw tool to cut a wooden square into small pieces and fit them all back into a square again.

A puzzling craze sweeps the nation in the 1900s. In 1908, puzzles were a staple of the upper class. Wooden puzzles were very expensive.

For example, a wooden puzzle back then cost $5, but for the working class who only brought home $50 a month, having a puzzle would have been a luxury.

Over time cardboard puzzles became a less expensive way to make puzzling affordable to all.

During the Great Depression, puzzles offered people a quiet, inexpensive escape from the troubled economy.

In 1977, Ravensburger, a popular puzzle manufacturer, sold the world’s largest puzzle for its time. It had 5,000 pieces.

The largest puzzle today is 40,320 pieces and was made by a computer.

Puzzling is a craft, a challenge, a passion and a great way to pass the time. Top puzzle maker brands are Ravensburger, Buffalo Games, Educa, Cobble Hill, Eurographics, Gibsons, Heye, Pomegranate and White Mountain.

In recent years the popularity of jigsaw puzzles has hit a high, with people of all ages turning to the classic activity for relaxation and stress relief.

Popular sizes of puzzles are small, up to 500 pieces; medium, 500-1,000 pieces; large, 1,000-2,000 pieces; and extra-large, over 2,000 pieces.

The most popular jigsaw size is 1,000, mainly because it strikes a balance between not being too difficult so you can enjoy doing it, but still offering a challenge.

Don’t count yourself short if you can spend hours staring at a bunch of puzzle pieces spread all over a table. Being good at solving jigsaw puzzles usually means you are goal-oriented, patient, have an eye for detail, enjoy a challenge and have a knack for problem solving.

If you are a jigsaw junkie like me, just try to walk by an unfinished puzzle without stopping. It will be almost impossible. Try it sometime.

Mary Tobia is an occasional writer for the Times News. Reach her at tneditor@tnonline.com