40,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Crumples A Day After Completion

The 40,000 piece hand-cut jigsaw puzzle that beautifully depicted the scenes from Queen's Royal Jubilee celebration was definitely a work fit for royalty . . . Until, it crumpled right before the eyes of its creator, 63-year-old Dave Evans.

Over the years, the Dorset, UK resident who spent many years honing his skills at a jigsaw puzzle company, has created many hand-crafted pieces. However, this montage of 33 pictures from the colorful ceremony that took place in 2012, was special because it is his first attempt to get into the record books, a dream he has harbored for many years.

It took him five months and about 200 hours to painstakingly hand cut and then re-assemble the 19ft. 6in. by 8ft. wood masterpiece, but it was all worth it when on Wednesday April 24th, the maestro fit in the final piece in front of a cheering crown of live and webcam viewers. After he was done, he, placed it inside a huge frame, in front of which was posted a giant 'do not touch' sign.

However, when he walked in to his studio the following day, he noticed that it had slipped a little, and decided to adjust it. Right at that moment a passerby walked in to ask for directions. As Mr. Evans turned around to respond, he got slightly distracted causing the entire masterpiece to come crumbling down. Thanks to the fact that his webcam was still on, the entire scene got captured on tape, in an extremely dramatic fashion.

The good news is that David's bid to get into the Guinness World Record Books will not be impacted. That's because he had measured and photographed the giant creation and sent in the application, the prior day. And given the fact that there is no record for the world's largest hand-cut wooden puzzle, his chances of getting in, are pretty good!

However, the exasperated man is now scrambling to put the jigsaw back together in seven days so that it can be displayed at the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, UK, this week, and then auctioned off for charity, later in the year. We sure hope he gets it all together, in time!

Resources: Telegraph.co.uk, Dailymail.co.uk