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HISTORY159 - Jigsaw Puzzles

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The subject for this blog came out of a discussion Pat and I were having with a friend about what kinds of puzzles we liked.  Pat reminded us of the great number of jigsaw puzzles available at the Hacienda at the Canyon retirement community where we live, and how popular they are.  A quick internet search turned up a lot of interesting data on the history of jigsaw puzzles - new to me, so that will be the subject of this blog. After an introduction to the subject, I will discuss the history of jigsaw puzzles in historical eras, then a snapshot of Jigsaw puzzles today, and finish with a look at the future of jigsaw puzzles. As usual, I will list my principal sources at the end.   Introduction A jigsaw puzzle requires the assembly of irregularly shaped, interlocking, pieces - each with part of a picture.  The puzzle is solved by assembling the pieces to complete the picture John Spilsbury, a London cartographer and engraver, is credited with commercializing ...
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HISTORY158 - Generations

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Recently I was wondering if generational differences in my fellow residents in the Hacienda at the Canyon retirement community have any effect on how we interact with each other.  I also wondered about difficulties we might have with the current culture.  We’re all seniors of course or we wouldn’t be living here, and mostly of two generations:  the Silent Generation (born from 1928 - 1945) and the Baby Boomer Generation (born from 1946 - 1964).  So, I decided to do some research and write about these subjects.  After an introduction, I will discuss the Silent and Baby Boomer Generations in turn.  For each generation, I will identify key historical events that helped shape the cultural traits of the generation, and the generation’s supposed core traits.  I will then summarize the similarities and differences between the two generations, and then the biggest difficulties these (senior) generations reportedly have with the current culture.  Lastl...
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