Riddles have been confounding yet delighting people for thousands of years. These puzzling questions serve as more than just idle amusement – they provide insight into our psychology and connect us to ancient traditions of language play. One such riddle asks "What do you call an old snowman?" The punning answer, which I will reveal later, provides a fun example of how riddles spark our intellect.
In this in-depth blog post, we‘ll unravel the long and fascinating history of riddles across cultures worldwide. We‘ll analyze what makes these brainteasers so universally and timelessly appealing. And we‘ll fully explore the specific riddle in question – "What do you call an old snowman?" – to illustrate what gives riddles their intellectual sizzle.
A Globetrotting History of Riddles
Riddles have been discovered in the earliest forms of writing known to humankind. The Sumerians, creators of the earliest known written language, cuneiform, etched riddles onto clay tablets starting around 2500 BC (Abrams and Abrams, 1999). These Mesopotamian riddles often played on homophones to conceal their answers. For example, the Sumerian riddle “What city stands with its buildings gathered in?” used wordplay to hint at the answer “Fold” (Van Buren, 1936).
In ancient Greece, riddles featured prominently in myths and legends. The most famous of these is the Riddle of the Sphinx, uttered by a mythical creature with a lion’s body and human head: “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?” When Oedipus correctly answered “a human” (crawling as a baby, walking upright in adulthood, and with a cane in old age), he outsmarted the sphinx and freed the city of Thebes (Ackerman, 2018).
Riddles likewise permeated ancient British, Gaelic, and Norse lore. Exeter Book, an anthology of Old English riddle poems from around 960-990 AD, contains over 90 riddles with metaphorical imagery, such as “I’m a wondrous creature: to women a thing of joyous expectation, to close-lying companions serviceable.” (the onion’s layers represent familial generations living under one roof) (Williamson, 2017).
In Ancient India, riddles and word puzzles called prahelikas feature in Sanskrit and Pali texts. Educated people held prahelika parties to demonstrate their linguistic skills (Khoroche, 1989). The Cheriyal scroll paintings of southern India, which date back over 400 years, incorporate visual narrative riddles conveying moral lessons. Viewers must solve the pictorial puzzle to grasp the story‘s meaning (Balija,2022).
Riddles remain woven into oral traditions worldwide today. In parts of West Africa, trading riddles is a pastime at social gatherings (Finnegan, 2012). Among the Kalash people of Pakistan, riddles are told in poetry form accompanied by music at festivals (Cacopardo & Cacopardo, 2001). Ancient Tibetan literature from the 8th century onward shows a deep appreciation for riddles in Tibetan culture (Schiefner, 1906).
Native American tribes from the Navajo to Inuit have incorporated riddles into their oral storytelling traditions for centuries (B. Cox, 1997; Oswalt, 1990). The Cherokee told witty, metaphorical animal riddles around campfires (Duncan, n.d.). Coast Salish tribes of the Pacific Northwest tested children’s observational skills with riddles about the natural world.
So the history of riddles beautifully mirrors the history of human language and creativity itself. These puzzles have allowed people worldwide to play with words and challenge the mind for millennia.
The Global Allure of Riddles
Part of what makes riddles so fascinating culturally is their ubiquity across the world. Riddles appear not only in most indigenous languages worldwide but also as part of local lifestyles, lore, and traditions.
In Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, children and adults alike gather to trade riddles at weddings and social occasions. In Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, the Malay language contains a long tradition of sophisticated riddles woven into prose and poetry (Sweeney, 1972).
In Mexico, villages hold contests to see who can stump their opponents with the most complex riddles, with judges scoring points. The Mayans incorporated metaphorical imagery from their mythology in their riddles (Piper, 1988). Riddles remain integral to folk culture in rural Mexican towns.
Aboriginal Australians told riddles rich in visual imagery to pass teachings between generations. Anthropologists in the early 20th century documented over 400 riddles in Indigenous Australian languages that encapsulated advice on hunting, camping, and more (A. W. Howitt, 1904).
Across Polynesia, riddling served as intellectual sport and ritual. In Samoa, riddle guessing was an important ritual during wedding ceremonies and other milestone events (Turner, 1884). The Maori of New Zealand viewed riddle skills as indicating intelligence and leadership potential.
So riddles provide more than just laughs – they offer insight into a culture. Common riddle themes often relate to a region’s daily activities, landscape, flora and fauna. They reflect value systems and local folklore. This reveals the deeper role riddles have played in cultures worldwide.
Why Our Brains Love Riddles: The Psychology
But what explains the enduring appeal of riddles across continents and millennia? Emerging research provides clues into the psychological draw.
Mental Calisthenics
Solving riddles engages our brains in enjoyable calisthenics. As psychologist Daniel Mulhern notes, riddles force us to use various types of thinking – deductive reasoning, analogical thinking, divergent thinking, insight (Mulhern, 1989). Processing unfamiliar associations and metaphorical language in riddles builds cognitive flexibility. Studies confirm riddle-solving activates executive functions like working memory and problem-solving (Chrysikou, 2006).
Humor and Surprise
The playful juxtapositions in riddles tap into our sense of humor. According to theory by psychologist Rod Martin, humor arises when something seems incongruous or surprising at first, then suddenly makes sense (Martin, 2007). Riddles lead us down the garden path, then deliver a punchline that creates a mental “a-ha!” moment and a burst of enjoyment.
Motivation and Satisfaction
Riddles motivate us by creating epistemic curiosity – the desire to fill gaps in knowledge for its own sake (Loewenstein, 1994). This drives us to keep pondering the riddle. Figuring out the answer then activates our brain’s reward circuitry. MRI studies confirm solving simple word puzzles like riddles releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, making us feel good (Abler et al. 2006).
Social Bonding
Trading riddles brings people together intellectually and socially. Anthropologist Robert Arundale argues riddles facilitate communication, collaboration, and intimacy between conversational partners (Arundale, 1989). Studies show sharing laughter from humor and jokes strengthens relationships and empathy (Kurtz & Algoe, 2017). So riddles both exercise and unite our minds.
Clearly our brains have neurochemistry that fuels a natural love of riddles starting from early childhood. This explains the far-reaching appeal riddles have retained across millennia.
Decoding “What Do You Call an Old Snowman?”
Having explored why our species shares an innate affinity for riddles, let‘s now analyze the specific example that asks: “What do you call an old snowman?”
This riddle uses the ambiguity of the word “old” as clever misdirection. “Old” initially makes us visualize longevity – we picture a snowman that‘s been around a long time. But, of course, a snowman can‘t survive many seasons before deteriorating.
The second meaning of “old” then clicks – melted or evaporated away. So an “old” snowman would have dissolved into puddles and vapor after sitting in the sun over time.
The answer? Water.
The riddle pivots on the dual meanings of “old” to set up the punny a-ha moment. While short, it provokes all the intellectual enjoyment that riddles elicit. It challenges us to analyze definitions and see beyond the surface reading. When the penny drops, it delivers that burst of pleasure the brain loves. And it does so with imagery – the idea of a snowman past its prime – that tickles the mind‘s eye.
As someone who grew up in a snowy region swapping riddles during blizzard days, I have fond memories of this one stumping yet delighting me and my siblings. It showcases how even simple riddles encapsulate so much of what makes all riddles timelessly fun.
In Summary
In the 4,000+ years that humans have recorded language, riddles have continually catalyzed our creativity and intellect. These puzzles speak to the universality of our human love of humor, surprise, and problem-solving challenges. A riddle like “What do you call an old snowman?” may seem trivial on the surface yet eloquently echoes riddles‘ history of bringing mirth and bonding to people across the planet over the millennia.
So the next time you come across a riddle, embrace the spirit of the countless riddle-lovers worldwide across time whose eyes surely lit up the same way yours just did. Riddles remind us of our shared human nature – we simply delight in playful flights of wordplay and imagination.
