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Ok, a myth says that any passers had to answer this riddle correctly or thy'd be swallowed by the sphinx, what has four legs, then has two legs,then has three???

TRY TO SOLVE IT,GOOD LUCK!!!

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Dark_Meryetamun_28 · Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2003 8:31 pm Post subject:

A centaur that's short on fingers? (He cuts them, off to do subtraction.) Confused

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murphyz · Scribe Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 76 Location: London, UK

The riddle was, in full,

"What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?"
And this riddle was set by the Sphinx which guarded the land of Thebes.

The story is as follows:

King Laius of Thebes and his wife Jocasta had a son it was propheted would kill his father and marry his mother. In order to overcome this prophecy the son was cast out into the mountains where he was found by a shepard and named Oedipus (Greek for 'swollen foot' as he was found with a nail in his foot). When in manhood Oedipus went to the land of Thebes, solved the riddle asked by the sphinx and killed the king (his father) and, therfore, got the hand of Jocasta (his mother) in marriage. When it finally came to light that he had actually married his mother, Jocasta hung herself and Oedipus ripped out his eyes and became a nomad.

This is where the term 'Oedipus complex' came from, basically having a sexual desire for your mother (as proposed by Freud).

Now, the answer to the riddle that was asked.

The sphinx asked Oedipus:
"What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?"

And Oedipus answered "Man".

This is due to a baby crawling on all fours ('morning' being the start of life). An adult walks around on two legs in the 'afternoon' which is throughout infancy and adulthood. And then an old man needing a cane to walk around with in the elder years ('evening') and, therefore, having three legs.

Hope this helps.

Mxx
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Dark_Meryetamun_28 · Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2003 6:55 pm Post subject:

Duh! I heard this one before. I didn't read all of Murphyz' post though. It's a human. Fist, when it is young (morning) it walks on all fours. Then, when it is grown, (evening) it walks on two legs. When it is old, (night) it has a cane! (3 legs) I knew I'd heard that before!
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murphyz · Scribe Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 76 Location: London, UK

glad you already knew the answer...for a moment you had us convinced it was a centaur! Wink

Mxx
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Dark_Meryetamun_28 · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2003 1:01 pm Post subject:

By the way, my brother, who knows a lot about writing, science, computers, random facts, Star Wars, anime, online stuff, and Lord of the Rings says that I don't have to worry about the pics on my sig. I belive him because he was in a serious mood when he told me. He doesn't really lie to me anymore.
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murphyz · Scribe Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 76 Location: London, UK

I'm not saying you have to worry about it. All I'm saying is that it's netiquette not to do so, and that when someone else is paying for the bandwidth that you are using you should at least have their permission, and that there are options available so you don't have to steal the bandwidth. I have no doubt that someone could deep link a picture for years without it disappearing.

Mxx
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Dark_Meryetamun_28 · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2003 9:35 pm Post subject:

Well, yeah. Courtesy is important, but I can't have a site yet. I want one, but can't have one.
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