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Labyrinths and mazes (Click to select text)
Labyrinths and mazes Labyrinths and mazes have been around for literally thousands of years. They have special uses in all fields and studies for humankind. Mazes are used to not only study humans and their intelligence, but also that of animals. Mazes and labyrinths are used in so many ways it may boggle the mind. They are used to test memory, to entertain, to provide good story plots for cheesy movies, sometimes even those movies that aren't so cheesy, and in some places provide decoration. Labyrinths also provide the basis for some excellent games and hours of fun for the kids whose parents just don't feel like dealing with them at the time. Then, last but not least, labyrinths and mazes can provide excitement in books you just can't put down, and puzzles which seem almost impossible to solve for those people who test their minds to the limit for fun. The word labyrinth comes from a Latin word, "labrys" which means "double-axe". One can only speculate why they would call it that, but it does make sense. Labyrinths were built to protect, but what if the person trying to be protected was lost in it. A double-bladed axe would be similar. It can be used to defeat the enemy as long as the other side of it does not defeat the allies. Labyrinths could be used to protect all sorts of things. The Egyptians used them to protect riches and even important bodies. In one instance, in Cretian mythology, the labyrinth was built by Daedalus for King Minos to protect the people of Crete from a minotaur. Instead of it keeping him from completing the labyrinth, it kept him inside so he could do the people no harm. He was lost inside of it until Theseus came and killed him. Labyrinths and mazes aren't just used for protection, though. In some places, like England, and some churches, labyrinths were used for decoration purposes. In the churches they were put on the floors to symbolize the hard times of the followers of that church. In England they would have huge mazes put around fountains or out in their gardens. Even today people use mazes for decorations in their gardens. People pay large sums of money to companies who specialize in that area. Of course, they also have the hedge-mazes which are actually considered labyrinths. People find them beautiful and the mystery intriguing, it's why they still are treasured. Along with decoration, and protection, of course is the entertainment value of labyrinths and mazes. Who doesn't enjoy sitting around a McDonalds working on that complimentary maze mat there? The answer is no one. People enjoy mazes because they strain the brain to think of a way out of them, but they aren't impossible. Who cares how many match sticks need to be moved to make a picture change from 4 squares to a giant star? Very few people. But mazes get the attention of everyone. Students love it when teachers pass out the mazes instead of the Geometry problems, or even that quiz that they didn't study for. People just overall enjoy doodling on the mazes that are supplied for them. Another good use for mazes is as a test. Humans use them to test our own intelligence, then we also often use them to test the intelligence of animals. Everyone who has ever seen a movie dealing with science has seen a man release a mouse into a maze in hopes that it can find the cheese. The rest of the plot with the mouse is different, but still, they always have the maze. Sometimes they even show a labyrinth and a man running through it. It's a very dangerous place that, once entered, no one is ever sure if they'll find their way out again. Mazes and labyrinths can protect, destroy, isolate, hide, intrigue, baffle, befuddle, and amaze. They can provide hours upon hours of fun if it's meant to be a game, or hours and hours of torture if the person is trapped inside of one. People must wonder what these amazing things were first created to do. Were they meant for entertainment, protection, or torture? No one will really ever know for sure. Humankind will know this, however. No matter what they were designed for, who they were designed by, or which one was the first one, they are now a way of getting hours and hours of enjoyment from a few penciled lines on a sheet of paper. Everyone can enjoy them because everyone can solve them and feel triumphant.
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