Monday, July 14, 2014

A Tombstone On Monday Mystery...!

I know that many folks enjoy a good puzzle now and then, so today is your lucky day. A mysterious inscription on a tombstone makes for a pretty cool puzzle, if ya ask me.

You have to ask...was it for fun, was it for entertainment, or was it done just to be different? Who knows? Most of all, does it really matter?

John Renie


Photo credit: Robert Cutts
 
Welsh house painter John Renie died in 1832. The unusual inscription on his grave takes the form of a grid, 19 squares across and 15 squares high. In each square is a letter. The center row, for example, reads “o J s e i L e r e H e r e L i e s J o.” You can make out some clear words. “Here” and “Lies” are in that in that string above, and you can see the start of “John.” But why the jumble?

After 170 years, a local TV station finally analyzed it, determining that it was a type of acrostic puzzle. Starting at the H in the very center and working outward, the sentence “Here Lies John Renie” can be read in 46,000 different ways. 

Some people say Renie was trying to fool the devil, to keep his soul safe. The local vicar thinks they’re taking the inscription too seriously. He expects it “was just a bit of fun” meant to provide entertainment for those that saw it.

I'll bet that ol' John would get a kick out of the amount of time folks are spending on trying to figure out why the tombstone is done in this manner. Probably getting a big charge out of it!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Fresh peaches anyone?
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7 comments:

  1. LindaJuly 14, 2014 at 1:30 AM

    That is quite an interesting find. I love peaches and have not had a fresh one this year. Yum. I will be there.

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  2. MamahenJuly 14, 2014 at 5:01 AM

    I'm going with the just for fun theory, but we'll never know....Fresh peaches sound yummy :))

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  3. ChickenmomJuly 14, 2014 at 6:39 AM

    I don't think the stone carver had much fun with it! Save a big bowl of those peaches for me - I'll bring whipped cream to top 'em off.

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  4. Andolphus GreyJuly 14, 2014 at 6:50 AM

    Never let death stand in the way of having a little fun.

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  5. linda mJuly 14, 2014 at 7:17 AM

    I think he did it just to make people think and have a little fun. Fresh peaches sound oh so good. Haven't even seen any fresh ones yet around here.

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  6. JOJuly 14, 2014 at 8:51 AM

    I wonder if he made most of this while still alive, then let the stone mason finish it at the time of his death. I wonder as many others if he was a fun guy or maybe really afraid. Anyway it's fun making to talk about and try to figure out.

    I'll take a refill please. We sure had some rain here yesterday evening.

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  7. HermitJimJuly 14, 2014 at 10:05 AM

    Hey Linda...
    Pretty strange, huh? Bet the ol' boy was pulling everyone's leg, as it were.

    Thanks for coming over today!



    Hey Mamahen...
    Guess some tings are more fun not being known!

    Thanks for stopping in this morning!



    Hey Phyllis...
    You never know what those guys that do all the carving find interesting. He might have had a ball.

    Thanks for dropping by today!



    Hey Sixbears...
    Looks to me like he had a good last laugh.

    Thanks for the visit today!



    Hey Linda M...
    Some folks like having the last laugh, I reckon. He certainly did.

    Thanks for the visit this morning.



    Hey Jo...
    That might be the case. He might have had it finished before he passed. too!

    Thanks, sweetie, for coming over today!

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