Brief history of riddles

Riddles are resolved around the world. Mongolia, Finland, China, Russia, Africa, Persia, India, Hungary, Scandinavia and the Philippines all have riddles. The ancient Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and the American Indians all agreed to the riddle solver. Riddles have always existed throughout history. In some cultures, they are one of the ways in which folklore has passed from generation to generation.

According to Greek mythology, the Sphinx sits outside Thebes and asks the traveler to become a riddle. If they can't answer, they will die.

"There are four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night?"

When Oedipus made the right answer, the man, the Sphinx destroyed himself.

The ancient Greeks highly valued the riddle because they should prove the wisdom of a person. Homer, who wrote the Oedipus story, was thought to have died indirectly because of a riddle he could not solve.

"What we caught, we got rid of it. We didn't catch anything, we kept it."

The answer is blind.

In the Bible, there is a riddle used to defeat the Philistines.

"Eating something to eat, and the strong is eating something sweet."

The answer is that Samson took the honey out of the hive formed on the corpse of a lion.

In the Middle Ages, street performers lived by asking riddles. If they can come up with an interesting riddle, they can attract travelers to pay them.

In Africa, riddles have been used as a passage for young people. Today they are used as a non-violent form of competitive games.

In Fiji, they have held riddle competitions and the champions will hold a grand celebration.

It is said that this riddle is the favorite of Theodore Roosevelt.

I speak, but I don't talk.
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  I heard the words, but I don't listen to them.
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  When I woke up, I saw me.
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  I heard it when I was sleeping.
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  Many people are on my shoulders.
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  A lot of hands are at my feet.
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  The strongest steel can't break my face.
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  However, the softest whispers can destroy me.

The answer is the actor.

Although getting the right answer is not a matter of life and death, today the riddle is still very popular, just like in ancient times.

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