So, why do puzzle crazes occur from time to time? I am really not sure why, nor do I think anyone else really is. I have put forward a specific hypothesis here and I would lie to ascertain your response to it. To reiterate, I believe that we need to escape from the realm of daily life, where solutions rarely seem to exist, into an imaginary realm that has definite solutions, where mysteries are deciphered, and where order is restored. Puzzles are, in a word, a form of escapism. Maybe that's why I always used to do puzzles as a teenager when exams were around the corner or today when a deadline is imminent.