Official News page 9

REAL LIFE NEWS: JIGSAW DISAPPOINTMENT

by hazed

A British pensioner was devastated after spending over seven years working on a 5,000-part jigsaw, only to find there was one piece missing.

Jack Harris, now aged 86, started the puzzle in 2002 after his daughter-in-law bought it for him as a Christmas present. He intended to complete it by the summer, but it took quite a bit longer than that. The 5 foot puzzle took over his dining table for seven and a half years. But he was dismayed by the realization that he only had 4,999 pieces - there was a hole in the middle of the puzzle.

His family think the missing piece may have been thrown away by mistake, or perhaps it was eaten by one of his son's dogs... I hope they checked the back of the sofa, because that's where lost items usually end up!

The story did end happily. A spokesman for the manufacturer of the jigsaw puzzle, Falcon Games Ltd, said they had stopped making that particular jigsaw and therefore would not be able to provide a replacement for the missing piece. But later, after a lot of publicity, they hand-crafted an individual piece to fit in the hole. So Jack was finally able to complete the puzzle - and presumably his wife could finally have her dining table back!

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