Students at the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam have made a piece of puzzling history by setting a new record for the world's Largest jigsaw (most pieces).
The puzzle, which was put together at the Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on September 24, was made up of 551,232 pieces and was completed with an overall measurement of 14.85 x 23.20 m (48 ft 8.64 in x 76 ft 1.38 in).
The 1,600 participating students were divided into 800 teams of two, with the attempt beginning at 7am.
It took the students 17 hours to first break up the 3,132 sections, each containing 176 pieces, into which the jigsaw puzzle had been divided, and then re-assemble them to create the puzzle.
Each piece measured 2,5 cm x 2,5 cm. The students finished just after midnight, prompting scenes of jubilation once the record was verified.
Many students spent the night in the stadium to ensure that all was in place for a live TV broadcast of the Guinness World Records certificate presentation which took place the following day, which saw a dazzling show of song and dance before representatives of the city government, management, staff and students of University of Economics and the Organization Committee.
The record-breaking puzzle depicted a lotus flower with six petals in symbolic representation of the six areas of knowledge envisaged by the Mindmap study method: human beings, geography, history, culture, education and economy.
It broke a Guinness World Record previously set in Singapore of 212,323 pieces which had stood since 2002.
