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Coronavirus Australia: Scott Morrison says jigsaw puzzle sales soaring

Scott Morrison went viral last week over his revelation puzzles were “essential” – now he’s got emotional explaining precisely why.

Rebekah ScanlanRebekah Scanlan
@rebekahscanlan
2 min read
April 2, 2020 - 3:14PM

Scott Morrison isn’t the only Australian who loves a good puzzle.

The Prime Minister has revealed that sales of the nostalgic brain teasers are “soaring” during a press conference this afternoon.

Just days after calling the classic game an essential item, Mr Morrison became visibly emotional explaining why he was so fond of puzzling.

“I think back to my grandmother and how she lived through the Depression and I remember as a kid being told stories by my grandmother about what they used to do as a family to get

through and we are doing the same thing in our house,” he said, visibly choking at the memory.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed puzzle sales are ‘soaring’ after he called them an essential item. Picture Gary Ramage
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed puzzle sales are ‘soaring’ after he called them an essential item. Picture Gary Ramage

“We are keeping each other entertained, as I said the other day. Jigsaw sales are soaring, I understand,” he continued.

“You have got to keep your family positive and keep connected and together.”

Twitter has exploded at the PM’s memory of his late-grandmother that saw him on the verge of tears.

The comments appear to shed some light on the Prime Minister’s previous comments about puzzles being an “essential” item.

When quizzed on what exactly “essential supplies” were on Sunday night, Mr Morrison replied: “I will give you an example. Our kids are at home now, as are most kids, and Jenny went out yesterday and bought them a whole bunch of jigsaw puzzles.

“I can assure you over the next few months we will consider those jigsaw puzzles absolutely essential.

He previously called the item ‘absolutely essential’ during Australia’s lockdown. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
He previously called the item ‘absolutely essential’ during Australia’s lockdown. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

“It is important that parents and families and households can get the things that they need to completely change the way they are going to live for the next six months at least, and so what we have done is sought to be practical about these issues.

“I mean, people are buying sporting equipment at the moment – gym mats and things like that – so they can exercise at home. These are things they are going to need.”

His choice of item left many scratching their heads and Twitter was soon filled with a raft of hilarious memes and tweets.

The demand for the classic game has seen a new “impossible” puzzle being sold on Etsy – a clear, acrylic puzzle that is described as “insanity”.

It features four tiers of difficulty: “easy, okay, hard and crazy” and prices start at $US16.99 ($AU28) with nine 2-inch pieces, which should take less than five minutes for most. The OK and hard levels contain 25 and 49 pieces, respectively.

However the “crazy” level is a 144 piece puzzle which will set you back $US24.99 ($41).

It seems Mr Morrison was onto a real self-isolation winner.

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-australia-scott-morrison-says-jigsaw-puzzle-sales-soaring/news-story/f3e152822d0cdf0a7ddbec139aaf16f4