Four stars for you all! Yes, the first murder detective story was Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue. It always struck me as a tad ridiculous, but in 1841, perhaps not. The detective is Auguste Dupin who solves the murders of a woman (throat slashed and thrown out window)and her daughter (strangled and hidden in chimney). Seems an "ourang-outang" committed the crime. So for you all four stars! Plus one special one in the next post. Tried to clone/copy it to make four, but could not. :( Here is a link that might be useful: Murders in the Rue Morgue

Well, good for you all!! It is the cross-word puzzle. Not as ancient as I thought!! The title for the world's first crossword puzzle is disputed based on whom you ask. The first puzzle that was called a "cross word puzzle" was written in 1862 by Our Young Folks in the United States. The first "cross word" was "dream". Crossword puzzles are said to be the most popular and widespread word game in the world, yet have a short history. The first crosswords appeared in England during the 19th century. They were of an elementary kind, apparently derived from the word square, a group of words arranged so the letters read alike vertically and horizontally, and printed in children's puzzle books and various periodicals. Although Maleska is usually credited with the first crossword phrase in The New York Times, an 1862 puzzle in the Lady's Book had phrases that are considered modern such as the expression "I did it". Crossword-like puzzles, for example Double Diamond Puzzles, appeared in the magazine St. Nicholas, published since 1873. Another crossword puzzle appeared on September 14, 1890, in the Italian magazine Il Secolo Illustrato della Domenica. It was designed by Giuseppe Airoldi and titled "Per passare il tempo" ("To pass the time"). Airoldi's puzzle was a four-by-four grid with no shaded squares; it included horizontal and vertical clues. On December 21, 1913, Arthur Wynne, a journalist from Liverpool, England, published a "word-cross" puzzle in the New York World that embodied most of the features of the genre as we know it. This puzzle is frequently cited as the first crossword puzzle, and Wynne as the inventor. Later, the name of the puzzle was changed to "crossword". In 1925, the New York Public Library reported that "The latest craze to strike libraries is the crossword puzzle," and complained that when "the puzzle 'fans' swarm to the dictionaries and encyclopedias so as to drive away readers and students who need these books in their daily work, can there be any doubt of the Library's duty to protect its legitimate readers?" The first book of crossword puzzles appeared in 1924, published by Simon and Schuster. "This odd-looking book with a pencil attached to it" was an instant hit and crossword puzzles became the craze of 1924. So, for Annette, TM, Bobbie, Cynthia and Garden Gal: Thanks to all for playing, see you all next week!! Nancy.

you stlll got some beauties blooming.FEAR NOT is always so pretty. I really like it.I don't remember seeing CLOUDS OF KISSES before, but its a very pretty one, too. SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER is always a beauty. That's my favorite today.I'm not that fond of orange flowers, but, ORANGE VELVET is a very pretty one. I do like that one. IN HOT PURSUIT is a beauty, too and looks like a big bloom. jean

woohoo...is it my turn to post one now? :-)