Why is a raven like a writing desk? Do you know the answer to the age old riddle? Like many great works of art that have stood the test of time, most people will tell you that there are many different answers to the Mad Hatter's riddle. But, then again, most people believe that Mad Hatter is insane. But is he? The truth is that it is difficult to tell whether of not this was Lewis Carol's intention for the Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. Though it is true that hatters often suffered from neurological conditions because of the lead based compound they used to make felt hats (hence the phrase mad as a hatter), the term "the mad hatter" is never once uttered in the novel, Alice In Wonderland. Though Alice seems annoyed by the Hatter, she never once calls him crazy. The only character who ever does is Chesire, the Cat, who also admits that everyone in Wonderland is mad, including Alice. But back to the raven and the writing desk. Do you know the answer? It is a lot more simple than it may seem. Lewis Carol was asked time and again to reveal the answer to the Hatter's famous riddle and he did just that in a special edition of Alice in Wonderland. He wrote, "Because it can produce a few notes, tho they be very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!" Do you get it? A raven can only sing flat notes and a desk is flat as well. The second part of the sentence is not a typo, though the publisher thought it was in the original print of Carol's answer to the riddle. Carol intentionally spelled nevar incorrectly because nevar spelled backwards is raven. Carol was a master word smith, who understood the importance of perception and how it can alight a kind of fancy in people, a curiosity that would spark a love of learning, and therefore a love of life itself. Because, after all, what else is life but a series of difficult, and often rather hilarious, questions? Once we think we have all the answers, we no longer have any need for questions. Children ask questions all day long. They never stop asking questions. Adults become annoyed with them because of this. I still find myself becoming annoyed when my son asks questions, but I recognize it and am actively learning to change that. It bothers us when we do not know things and we really have to try to prevent that from happening because this destroys the child like instincts in us that we actually need: adventure, imagination, curiosity, wonder, and so much more. So, why is a raven like a writing desk? I don't know. You tell me this time...or should I say...ask me this time. Now, begin at the beginning! Then go on, until you come to the end: then stop.