Do you reserve your Saturday afternoons for the brain fitness promised by crossword puzzles?
If not, congratulations. That could be a wise decision.
But for over 50 million people, crossword puzzles are a part of their daily lives.
And they think it's helping them.
In fact, there's a pernicious myth out there.
One that is generally assumed by far too many people who hope, wish and pray that doing word puzzles regularly can help keep your brain young and active.
Many people also believe that the health benefits of crossword puzzles can even keep Alzheimer's or dementia at bay.
The question is…
Why Do People Believe These Crazy Things About Crossword Puzzles?
Here's one reason:
Many consider crossword puzzles to be the pastime of the intelligent and knowledgeable people – a connection that we are only too happy to have.
More importantly?
Playing word games may legitimately improve your vocabulary.
Then again, so will developing your own mind as the perfect vocabulary builder (our focus on this YouTube playlist):
So, ultimately…
The idea that crossword puzzles will develop your memory is true enough.
For some people, at least.
Here's Who Really Benefits From The Memory And Brain Fitness Benefits Of Crossword Puzzles
Can you guess who gets the most bang for their buck in the crossword universe?
The answer is simple:
The people who design crossword puzzles – the cruciverbalists – experience the ultimate benefits.
As dedicated logophiles, crossword puzzle designers love using obscure words whenever and wherever they can.
And because they're the architects of these games, they're the ones most likely to remember the words they've enjoyed building into them.
To give a parallel example, it's kind of like how songwriters find it easier than anyone else to remember the lyrics they've penned.
When Did We First Get Hooked on Crosswords: A Fascinating History
The crossword – a standard feature in newspapers across the globe – celebrated its hundredth birthday on December 21, 2013.
And it's still going strong!
However, when journalist Arthur Wynne invented and printed the first ever "word-cross" puzzle in the New York World newspaper on December 21, 1913, it was hardly met with much fanfare.
An editorial in The New York Times published on November 17, 1924 called crossword puzzles "a primitive sort of mental exercise" and a "sinful waste" of time.
The craze of word puzzles spread after publishing firm of Simon & Schuster launched its career in 1924 with a book of puzzles. This was the same year when the World published its first daily crossword puzzle.
Years later, the puzzle's success surprised Wynne:
"… all I did was take an old idea as old as language and modernize it by the introduction of black squares," he said in 1925. "I'm glad to have had a hand in it, and no one is more surprised at its amazing popularity" (Lynn J. Feigenbaum, Crosswords at a Crossroad, The Puzzle Turns 100. What is the clue to its Survival?).
Wynne was inspired by ancient word squares – where words read the same across and down.
Wynne also took inspiration from another puzzle, the acrostic – in which sets of letters (such as the initial or final letters of the lines) taken in order form a word or phrase or a regular sequence of letters of the alphabet.
Ultimately, the current format with its compact square diagram of white spaces and black bars, with connected across and down words, and numbered clues became popular.
The Addiction Theory Of Why We Love Crossword Puzzles
Word puzzles are not only fun, but immensely satisfyin
Published on 8 years ago
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