You're going to rock today's crossword – quite literally, since it’s all about stones and rocks.
Press start to play and test your knowledge.
Whether it's the Oscar-winning American actress who starred in La La Land (13-Across) or the Australian landmark, also known as Uluru (11-Down), the clues in today’s puzzle will need you to pay attention to all the rocks and stones you've seen, heard or read about.
On the surface, any old rock might seem boring and not worth a second look. But every layer of rock is a page in our world’s hypothetical history book. And when I say history, I mean ancient history.
Fossils, for instance, are often found in rocks and provide insight into prehistoric plants, animals and even civilisations. But not just any preserved remains can be called fossils; they must be 10,000 years old or older, to be considered.
The first dinosaur fossil was found in 1815 and belonged to a Megalosaurus, which lived in the Middle Jurassic period 166 million years ago. The first naturalists who examined its remains mistook it for a giant lizard!
Another fossil find may have been the origin of the Greek myth of Cyclops – the fearsome one-eyed monster.
According to a 2003 National Geographic report, the remains of Deinotherium giganteum, which loosely translates to ‘huge terrible beast’, were found in Crete. It is a distant relative to today’s elephants, and stood at 15 feet tall, with tusks that were 4.5 feet long – one of the largest mammals ever known.
Paleontologists surmise that the large hole in the centre of the skull – where the animal’s trunk used to be – could well be the foundation for the tales of the one-eyed Cyclops, in ancient Greece.
It’s clear that rocks hold a preserved record of past events… what stories lie hidden within? That’s a puzzle that may take lifetimes to solve.
For today, play our Crossword and leave no stone unturned! Tell us if you enjoyed today's puzzle at games@gulfnews.com.
