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To Entertain and Amaze

Chris Maslanka begins his five-part series tracing the history of puzzles and puzzling from the earliest mazes to the burgeoning puzzle industry of the 19th century and beyond.

Chris Maslanka sets out on his journey to describe the long and endlessly satisfying human appetite for the setting and solving of puzzles. In five programmes he takes a series of narratives following the developments of the Maze, of riddles, of mathematical puzzles and the use of grids, as well as covering the period in the 19th century when a new middle class established enough leisure to make the business of puzzling exactly that, a business. In the process Chris solves some of the conundrums about the utilitarian nature of puzzling and why it is that puzzles travel so well and respond to the catalyst of mechanical invention.

Available now

12 minutes

Last on

Mon 25 May 2020 14:45

Broadcasts

  • Mon 22 Jan 2018 12:04
  • Mon 25 May 2020 14:45