Science spoils whatever fun is left in solving jigsaw puzzles

That dusty jigsaw puzzle that's been sitting half-done on a card table in Grandma's living room for the last eight months (or years)? Well, it's toast. Cornell University scientist Andrew Gallagher has come up with an algorithm that can solve a 10,000-piece puzzle in 24 hours, and even multiple puzzles after the pieces have been mixed together. Not that it's all play and no work for this software: It can also help piece together shredded documents, which should comfort anyone who does that to guard against identity theft. So, to recap: jigsaw puzzles and paper shredding, both now pointless. Yay, science!