Every culture seems to have riddles, but what is the secret of their appeal? An authority on linguistic anthropology, Marcel Danesi offers a concise snapshot of riddles throughout time—from the Riddle of the Sphinx, to the riddles in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack and Lewis Carroll's Alice books, to those found in the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings book series. Illustrations appear throughout, and some particularly choice riddles are included in the text.