Fun Fact Friday - 1 Down

Today's fun fact is coming in a little late again, but it is still Friday so the alliterative title is still apt.

Fun fact: The New York Times refused to publish crossword puzzles before the 1940s, believing them to be a "primitive form of mental exercise."

Well, pish posh The New York Times! I am a fan of many kinds of puzzles. I don't so much care for word searches though. That's not really a puzzle if you ask me. If I want to find words, I'll go look for them in the dictionary. Then I know exactly where to find them. Gee whiz! But I digress.

Please note that this is the wrong way to do a crossword. Do not start with 18 down. What the fuck?

Crosswords originally gained popularity in the 1920s, but even then The Times evidently thought rather highly of itself. Puzzles! Oh, hurumph! What could the common man possibly want puzzles for? Turns out The Gray Lady decided the common man wanted puzzles to amuse himself during blackouts in World War II. The first crossword puzzle in The New York Times was published in 1942 upon the United States's entrance into the war.

Since then, The Times puzzle - particularly the Sunday one - has become a status symbol at least to me. I am eternally impressed by people who can complete the Sunday puzzle, given that I rarely move beyond Wednesday when I am lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of the paper. Primitive form of mental exercise? Well, I suppose there is no other reason I would need to know Peter Fonda starred in Ulee's Gold. It really is just trivial but that is chiefly why it calls to my young heart. What is life if not the pursuit of useless knowledge? I just don't know!

Bonus fun opinion: Will Shortz is a god.