BCD
When I was growing up, putting together jigsaw puzzles was a common activity for my family. We generally did 1000 piece puzzles, which were large enough that all 5 of us could gather around the table. Everyone could reach and we would each stake out our own 'section' and there was a general sense of cameraderie.
Over the years, we quit doing puzzles together as we were each busy with other activities. More years passed by and while one or another of us might do puzzles, it was a solo activity.
And then Covid hit. And suddenly, like many, we found ourselves drawn once again to jigsaw puzzles. Not only were we in different households, but we were in different states. Yet somehow, we felt like we were doing jigsaw puzzles together. And while it might have been cheaper for each of us to buy our own puzzles, we found ourselves dismantling completed puzzles so that we could ship them to other family members. While I might be sitting by myself as I found the edge pieces, and the corners, and then worked on the rest of the puzzle, knowing that other family members had done this same puzzle somehow carried a sense of cameraderie.
What does this have to do with BCD?
Well, it turns out that a person who puts together a jigsaw puzzle is called a Dissectologist. I know, you're shaking your head. This doesn't make sense. A jigsaw puzzler (that's my word for someone putting together a puzzle) isn't dissecting anything, he/she is putting something together. Yet... multiple sources insist that a person who enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles is a dissectologist. A bit more digging shows that the phrase 'jigsaw puzzle' was first used in the early 1900s. Except that the first jigsaw puzzle was made around 1760.
And here's where everything comes together.
The first puzzle and early puzzles after that were made from maps glued to wood, and then cut apart. So originally, puzzles were called dissected maps, or dissected puzzles.
Aha! Now it makes sense why puzzlers are called dissectologists!
I can feel your impatience.. because I still haven't explained the reason for the title of this blogpost. So here's your explanation. BCD is the Benevolent Confraternity of Dissectologists. The Confraternity is an international club of sorts, based on England, for followers of jigsaw puzzles. The club was only established 35 years ago... and it's not a very large club .. just a few hundred people. But it seems like they're worthy of a bit of attention. After all, those of you who have been working on puzzles over the last eleven months certainly know the popularity of this activity... periodically, jigsaw puzzles can be nearly impossible to find, as everything is out of stock.
Having said all of that... I still consider myself a jigsaw puzzler. And in case you were wondering .. yes, I do drink tea while I work on my puzzles.
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