We put down the knitting needles this week and emptied a box of 1,000 chaotic cardboard pieces onto the table — and discovered that jigsaws have a surprisingly rich history, a fiercely devoted subculture, and an almost meditative pull that has nothing to do with actually finishing them. From Victorian parlor pastimes to pandemic obsession to the collectors hunting down rare wooden puzzles worth more than your car, it turns out the humble jigsaw is hiding depths nobody warned you about.