The puzzles are solved all over the world. There are riddles from Mongolia, Finland, China, Russia, Africa, Persia, India, Hungary, Scandinavia, and the Philippines. The ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks, and American Indians admired puzzle solvers. Puzzles have been around since before recorded history. In some cultures, they were one of the ways that folklore was passed down from one generation to the next.
According to Greek mythology, the Sphinx sat outside Thebes and asked passing travelers a riddle. If they couldn’t answer, they would die.
“What goes on all fours in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs at night?”
When Oedipus gave the correct answer, man, the Sphinx destroyed itself.
The ancient Greeks thought a lot about riddles, as they were supposed to demonstrate a man’s intelligence. Homer, who wrote the Oedipus story, is believed to have died indirectly due to a riddle he couldn’t solve.
“What we catch, we throw away. What we don’t catch, we keep.”
The answer is Lice.
There is the riddle that Samson uses to outwit the Philistines, in the Bible.
“From the devourer came something to eat, And from the strong came something sweet.”
The answer was that Samson had taken honey from a hive that had formed on the carcass of a lion.
In the Middle Ages, street performers lived by making puzzles. If they came up with an interesting riddle, they could lure travelers into paying them.
In Africa, riddles were once used as a rite of passage for the young. Occasionally, today, they are used as a non-violent form of competitive play.
In Fiji, they once held puzzle tournaments and the champions had a party in their honor.
This riddle was said to be one of Theodore Roosevelt’s favorites.
I speak, but I don’t say what I think.
I hear words, but I don’t hear thoughts.
When I wake up, everyone sees me.
When I sleep, everyone listens to me.
Many heads are on my shoulders.
Many hands are at my feet.
The strongest steel cannot break my face.
But, the softest whisper can destroy me.
The answer is an actor.
Riddles are still popular today, although getting the correct answer is not a matter of life and death, as it was in ancient times.