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l for ox goad (abc history)
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by
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dustin
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DUSTIN                            2023-02-08 20:19
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WHEN ^ SEES THE HIEROGLYPH WHICH BECAME THE LETTER "L", HE FIRST THINKS OF A KIND OF WALKING STICK, AND IT'S NOT FAR FROM THE TRUTH - IT'S ACTUALLY A STICK, BUT IT WAS RATHER USED TO MAKE OXEN WALK!  
  
HISTORY OF THE LETTER "L":  
  
| THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH FOR A GOAD (A STICK WITH SPIKES USED TO MAKE OXEN MOVE) WAS LIKELY THE EARLIEST ANCESTOR OF "L". SEE THE LEFT ΒΒΒ SHAPE INSIDE THE ΔΔΔ RECTANGLE.  
  
| THE PHOENICIANS ADOPTED THE GLYPH, ROTATED IT AND CALLED IT "LAMEDH" (GOAD). IT BECAME THE 12TH LETTER OF THEIR ALPHABET, AND IT ALREADY LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO THE MODERN LETTER (SEE THE RIGHT ΒΒΒ SHAPE).  
  
| NO BIG CHANGES WERE MADE BY THE ANCIENT GREEKS ("LAMBDA"), THE ETRUSCIANS OR THE ROMANS.  
  
| THE LETTER WAS ALWAYS SPOKEN [L] AS IN "LUCK".  
  
REMARK: THE MODERN GREEK "LAMBDA" DOES LOOK QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE LATIN "L", ALTHOUGH IT STILL HAS THE SAME PRINCIPLE SHAPE OF TWO ANGULAR LINES (IT LOOKS LIKE AN "A" WITHOUT THE MIDDLE LINE). THE SOUND IS STILL THE SAME.  
  
SO MAYBE THIS WAS ONE OF THE MORE BORING LETTERS, BUT THE NEXT ONE WAS QUITE STRIKING TO ME! HENCE...  
  
FOR PUZZLE FANS:  
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE TITLE OF THE NEXT CAVE WILL BE (M FOR...)? I'M ASKING FOR THAT SPECIFIC LETTER BECAUSE I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE TO GUESS IT FROM THE SHAPE OF THE (MODERN) LETTER "M"! IT'S PROBABLY STILL NOT SO EASY TO GUESS WITHOUT ANY HINTS, SO I INTEND TO GIVE ONE CLUE TOMORROW AND ANOTHER THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. SOLUTION IN THREE DAYS...! :D  
  
CAVE DIFFICULTY: 3/10

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-09 16:24
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HINT 1 ("FOR PUZZLE FANS"):  
IMAGINE THE "M" SHAPE LESS ANGULAR!

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ARNO                              2023-02-09 19:18
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SOME GUESSES: SEA (/WAVES), MOUNTAINS, HAMMOCK, MC DONALDS... ;-)

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-09 19:31
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VERY GOOD GUESSES arno! I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE LAST ONE :D PROBABLY THE SECOND HINT TOMORROW WILL MAKE YOU EXCLUDE SOME OF THEM... :D

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-10 15:05
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HINT 2 ("FOR PUZZLE FANS"):  
THE "M" HIEROGLYPH IS SOMETHING WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN ESSENTIAL FOR HUMANS (AND STILL IS)!

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KRISSZ                            2023-02-10 17:30
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MOTHER? MILK?

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ARNO                              2023-02-10 20:51
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WATER, CAMEL, 2 HAMBURGERS, BOAT, BED, BOOBIES....? :-O

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-10 21:53
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krissz: THE WORD DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO START WITH "M". INSTEAD, CONSIDER THE SHAPE OF THE LETTER "M" IN A MORE CURVED VERSION. WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?   
  
arno: AGAIN, YOUR LAST GUESS IS MY FAVORITE ONE... :D

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KRISSZ                            2023-02-11 08:50
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HEART?

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-11 13:14
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ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT CORRECT, I QUITE LIKE THIS GUESS, IT'S EASY TO IMAGINE A HEART SYMBOL WHICH WAS OPENED AT THE BOTTOM AND PULLED APART! COOL! :D  
  
IF YOU STILL WANT TO HAVE ANOTHER GUESS, IMAGINE SEVERAL "M"S ONE AFTER ANOTHER: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM AND WRITE THEM ALL TOGETHER AND CURVED!  
  
(IT'S POSSIBLE THAT arno ALREADY GAVE THE CORRECT ANSWER, BUT MAYBE ALSO NOT. I JUST DON'T WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING!)

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-12 14:06
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SOLUTION REVEALED! :D  
  
arno, CONGRAT, ONE OF YOUR GUESSES WAS RIGHT! :D  
  
krissz, THANKS 4 YOUR INTEREST IN THE PUZZLE, AND I REALLY LIKE YOUR "HEART" GUESS AS WELL! :D

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ARNO                              2023-02-12 20:14
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dustin, THANKS! :-D TONIGHT I'LL DRINK A WELL DESERVED EXTRA GLASS OF WATER TO CELEBRATE! ;-)

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DUSTIN                            2023-02-12 21:22
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CHEERS! HAVE SOME CELEBRATION BURGERS FROM MC donald'S TOO? :D