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Show Old Egyptians Found ' Enjoyment in Puzzles ruzzles, of v Inch the human race seems never to tire, were popular forms of amusement hundreds of years before Christ, says Sam Loyd, the puzzle expert, In an article In Liberty. Lib-erty. "Our knowledge of early puzzles puz-zles Is based mostly on traditions nnd early writings," he points out. "The most ancient puzzles of which we actually ac-tually know the author's name date back to l,ri00 B. C. These are contained con-tained in an Egyptian papyrus reposing repos-ing in the British museum. The title of this prized relic is 'Directions for Knowing All Dark Things.' The author au-thor was n priest named Ahmes. Ills puzzles were not difficult, since they dealt mainly with simple arithmetic. ' "Frequently I niu asked to name the world's lirst puzzle crank," Loyd con-I con-I tinues. "But to Identify the playful ! fellow who first took It upon himself to lie mental knots for bis friends i would be about as hopeless as trying to put my finger on the first teller of i funny stories, or to Isolate that ln-i ln-i trepid character who downed the first j oyster." |