Puzzles are a great way to stimulate the brain, expand your vocabulary, and humiliate your friends. But all kidding (and frustrations) aside, people’s fascinations with puzzles go back to the dawn of man.
Did you know …
- The Rubik’s Cube was invented by accident.
- In 2011, people playing the online game, Foldit, resolved a complex biological mystery surrounding the structure of an enzyme that caused Aids-like disease in monkeys. Scientists had been working on a solution for over a dozen years. It took the gamers three weeks.
- The word ladder puzzle was invented by Lewis Carroll – author of Alice in Wonderland.
- The “Number Place” game was invented in the United States, but did not become popular until it was shown in Japan under the name “Sudoku.”
- The jigsaw puzzle was invented before the signing of the US Declaration of Independence.
- Jigsaw puzzles help people relax and are often used with autistic children as a kind of therapy.
- The earliest puzzles originate nearly 5,000 years ago. Back then, in the ancient world, labyrinths were popular for both the intellectual and spiritual challenges they presented.
Well, now you do.
Check out more puzzling facts and trivia here, here, and here.
PS. The crossword puzzle (as we know it today) will be 110 years old later this year. Journalist Arthur Wynne (of England) invented the puzzle format and had his first puzzle printed in the New York World newspaper in December of 1913.
Happy birthday, old friend.
A dream job … or just a job of dreams?
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A little walk can take us miles
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Apple’s big bet on the MLS
How does Apple view its 10-year, $2B+ deal between Apple TV+ and Major League Soccer? It’s a way to reinvent sports for a streaming environment and get in on the ground floor of what could be the freshest source of “reality television” on the planet.
Animal stories … and much more.
Whether it’s a rampaging bear, a happy dog, or the return of the woolly rhino … it’s all good in today’s DAILY SPAM.
Still turning heads at 50 … happy birthday to THE EXORCIST.
Everything from celebrating fifty years of head-spinning thrills to the health benefits of ice cream. It’s all part of today’s nutritious meal of email delights.
Have you had your SPAM today?
Introducing a new column … Daily Spam is what I serve up after digging through the hundreds of emails I get every day … just so you don’t have to. I’ll provide links to interesting articles, videos, podcasts and more with no offers for winning lotto numbers, inheritances from African princes, or the latest NFTs. It’s free content worth every penny. Guaranteed.
You’ll never guess where I found the biggest obstacle to my recovery journey …
It turns out that the mind-body connection works both ways. Sometimes the biggest barrier keeping you from your success is located between your ears – which is why its important to understand how physical trauma can bring on depression and how your mental health affects your recovery.
The patient can go on vacation, but the therapy can’t.
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