Basis Design

We here at Basis love crossword puzzles. The mental exercise, the satisfaction of a puzzle solved, the constant inventory taken of the facts and figures collected in the mind, and the ingenious, meticulous design all form an extremely pleasant way to pass the time.

The original crossword puzzle was published in 1890, in Italy. Featuring only a four by four square it was titled “Per passare il tempo,” or “A way to pass the time.” It was written by Giuseppe Airoldi, a full 23 years before the commonly referenced “first crossword” penned by Arthur Wynne in 1913 and appearing in the New York World. Interesting side note: the New York Times, undoubtedly our preeminent creator and purveyor of quality crosswords, published many scathing editorials calling the puzzles a waste of time, and even sinful. It was not until 1942, half a century after the puzzles made their first appearance, that the NYT deigned to include them within it’s pages. Underneath is what has been considered the most difficult puzzle of all time, published in the December 26th Saturday edition of the New York Times: