Why are crossword puzzles symmetrical?
Dear Cecil: I’ve noticed that crossword puzzles in the newspapers are always symmetrical — that is, if you rotate them 180 degrees around their centers, they look exactly the same (except, of course, that the little numbers are upside down.) Why is this? If we find out, will it help us solve the puzzles? Please investigate! — Matthew S., Chicago Cecil replies: Tranquilize yourself, laddie. Crossword puzzles are symmetrical mainly because (1) symmetrical puzzles appeal to their authors’ neurotic love of order (have you ever talked to a crossword puzzle editor?), and (2) the word arrays that crossword puzzles are based on have always been symmetrical, dating back to ancient times, when they were thought to have mystical significance. The first crossword puzzle, devised in 1913 by Arthur Wynne, an editor for the New York World, was diamond-shaped with no black squares at all (instead there was a diamond-shaped cutout in the middle), but it was symmetrical nonetheless. Wynne said he based
