> And they know something much more important: every one of these people was affluent enough (or knew someone affluent enough) to spend a three-digit sum on a puzzle in the middle of the worst economic downturn in living memory.

Let's not hyperventilate too much; on any given weekend you can find people who hover around the poverty line spending hundreds of dollars on "toys", although those toys will probably continue to provide value and enjoyment significantly longer than this dumb puzzle.

Also, I would hardly consider the Great Depression to be out of "living memory", and are we still going to say we're "in the middle of" a huge economic downturn in 2028 just to support whatever histrionic point we need to make that day?

Edit: Either the (2009) wasn't in the title when I first clicked, or I just missed the damn thing. Thanks for pointing that out, Shaanie