riddle

riddle, puzzling question, specifically one that consists of a fanciful description or definition of something to be guessed. A famous riddle was asked by the Sphinx: "What goes on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, on three at night?" Oedipus guessed the answer correctly: "Man—in infancy he crawls, at his prime he walks, in age he leans on a staff." Samson's riddle is also famous: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness" (Judges 14.14). It refers to a lion he had just killed, on which he saw bees and honey; he ate some of the lion and the honey. Punning riddles are common, as: "When is a door not a door?" The answer is, "When it's ajar." There is comparatively little riddle literature, but riddles do figure prominently in Old English. The Exeter Book contains many English verse riddles of uncertain date; they vary considerably in matter. There are also many riddles in Latin hexameters dating from Anglo-Saxon England.

Deliberately enigmatic or ambiguous question requiring a thoughtful and often witty answer. The riddle is a form of guessing game that has been a part of the folklore of most cultures from ancient times. Western scholars generally recognize two main kinds of riddle: the descriptive riddle, usually describing an animal, person, plant, or object in an intentionally enigmatic manner (thus an egg is “a little white house without door or window”); and the shrewd or witty question. A classical Greek example of the latter type is “What is the strongest of all things?”—“Love: iron is strong, but the blacksmith is stronger, and love can subdue the blacksmith.”

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orig. James Riddle Hoffa

(born Feb. 14, 1913, Brazil, Ind., U.S.—disappeared July 30, 1975, Bloomfield Hills, near Detroit, Mich.) U.S. labour leader. He moved with his family to Detroit in 1924, left school at 14, and began work as a stockboy and warehouseman. He became a labour organizer in the 1930s, rising in the Teamsters Union during the next two decades until he reached the office of president, which he held from 1957 to 1971. Known throughout the trucking industry as a tough bargainer, he played a key role in forging the first national freight-hauling agreement and helped make the Teamsters the largest labour union in the U.S. Long associated with underworld figures, he was sent to prison in 1967 for jury tampering, fraud, and conspiracy; his sentence was commuted by Pres. Richard Nixon in 1971. In 1975 he disappeared from a restaurant near Detroit; he is believed to have been murdered to prevent his retaking control of the union. His son, James Riddle Hoffa, Jr. (b. 1941), was elected president of the Teamsters in 1999.

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Riddle is a city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,014 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Riddle is located at (42.951605, -123.365052).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²), all of it land.

Riddle was originally formed by George Abner Riddle

Economy

The Riddle area is known for nickel mining, with several square miles of nickel-bearing garnierite surface deposits nearby.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,014 people, 381 households, and 265 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,519.6 people per square mile (584.3/km²). There were 406 housing units at an average density of 608.5/sq mi (234.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.48% White, 2.27% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.

There were 381 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $37,159. Males had a median income of $31,438 versus $27,232 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,666. About 16.1% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• Oregon Blue Book entry for Riddle