If you have a penchant for pets, we have got a series of jigsaw puzzles for you. Our adorable animals series of jigsaw puzzles has all the necessary ingredients:

• Bunnies, cats, dogs, and more
• Animal-based hijinks, malarkey, shenanigans, and even tomfoolery
• Hilarious expressions and situations
• Totally absurd anthropomorphism

Yes, we have it all when it comes to extracting an involuntary “Aw!”

You can “aw” your way through an entire day with easy, 300-piece puzzles that keep your feel-good sensors topped off with an abundance of cuteness. And that could have serious (good) consequences.

The Science of Adorableness: Proportion and More

A lot of the reason why there is a universally understood and agreed-upon standard of cuteness has to do with proportion. And it’s not only to be found in animals, or even just in the young.

You see, the science of adorableness centers on proportion. It’s why caricatures are usually cute. It’s why comics are fun to read and look at. It’s found in games, jigsaw puzzles, and toys.

We tend to find babies to be cute, whether human or animal, because their bodies are small and their heads are large. Some puppies take it to the next level by having really enormous paws as well, which is just outrageous. How is that even allowed?

There’s something about these proportions that draws us in and makes us want to snuggle or protect them.

And that’s an important thing to note. A huge reason why we think animals are adorable is that they usually need help. Even if they can walk reasonably well, they’re usually a little clumsy. Something about that sends a signal to deep places in us, and we’re drawn to it like an Americana enthusiast to a Charles Wysocki 1000-piece puzzle.

Theories on the Magnetism of Cuteness

One explanation for why we find certain animals irresistible has to do with the idea that they somehow remind us of our own young. This explains why some people love their pets so much that they talk about them in terms of adoption as if they were their actual kids.

This is a deep love, and it is usually expressed with window stickers, cute little outfits, pet-themed jigsaw puzzles, and the fact that they usually ride in their owners’ laps while they’re driving (even if it is ridiculously unsafe for everyone, including the animal).

But another theory attempts to explain our enthusiasm for adorableness by positing this idea: it has to do with how we relate to them. More than likely, we’re projecting anthropomorphic traits onto non-human critters, but it’s still fun.

In the same way that animals talk or act sassy in cartoons or jigsaw puzzles, we imagine our cats and dogs (especially huskies) can talk or sing.

Cute Aggression

But get this: sometimes cuteness creates a little vortex of emotion. It’s a black hole into which we are inevitably sucked, and it produces what’s called “cute aggression.” You’ve probably heard someone say, “Oh, that puppy’s so cute, I could just eat him up!” Yikes! (For the record, that is not a series of jigsaw puzzles we would ever make.)

Somewhere deep down, total cuteness overload produces an urge to actually bust out the chompers and go for it, at least according to this theory.

It’s called cute aggression, and the essence of it is this: our metabolic responses to adorableness are so radical that the body overcompensates. In trying to shut it down, though, the pendulum can swing wildly off the mark and send us into nibble-and-squeeze mode.

This probably explains why Grandma’s treacherous pincers have always victimized chubby cheeks.

Adorableness and Dopamine

The primary chemical driver behind all of this is dopamine, the body’s way of reinforcing (ideally) good behaviors with a feel-good rush of satisfaction. Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to get this release. Dopamine can either reinforce behaviors or, in this case, drive instinctive responses.

Somewhere deep in the fabric of our being, we need to be tenderly drawn toward adorable things because they need protection that only we can provide. This is why we’re usually moved to hold them, snuggle them, make silly noises around them, and guard them against threats.

At the bottom of it all, it’s really about the survival of the species. With nearly eight billion people now kickin’ it on the planet, it seems like the design of this particular mechanism is sound. It works well, in other words.

Why It Matters

It’s pretty simple, really. There’s a lot of darkness in the world. There always has been. And it’s not like we need to watch or read the news to find this out; it’s almost impossible to get away from. In short, the world needs more cuteness in it.

Some have opined that the reason one buys and drives a Lamborghini, for instance, is because it makes people smile as it goes by. Little boys usually utter something inexpressible but decidedly enthusiastic. And the world is a little brighter as a result.

It’s the same for jigsaw puzzles that feature adorable animals. When you work on one of these puzzles, you are making the world a better place and putting more cuteness into it.

As you meditate on the right piece for the right place, you are literally soaking yourself in adorable bunnies, cute and rambunctious kittens, or dogs with smiles on their faces. How could that not have an effect?

In a world with so much that’s not adorable, you can begin to make a difference by bringing more of the adorable into it. Solving an adorable animal jigsaw puzzle is like cranking it up to eleven.

And as you go out from your kitchen table, out from the place where you have been soaking in adorableness for hours at a time, you will take good vibes with you into a world with a desperate case of Acute Adorableness Deficit.

Don’t waste your time posting cat gifs on socials! Solve a real-world problem with real-world adorableness, and begin an adorable animal's 300-piece puzzle today.