The Exeter Book, an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry from the 10th century, contains three riddles that seem shockingly risqu\u00e9 until you see the answers:
\nI\u2019m a strange creature, for I satisfy women,
\na service to the neighbors! No one suffers
\nat my hands except for my slayer.
\nI grow very tall, erect in a bed,
\nI\u2019m hairy underneath. From time to time
\na good-looking girl, the doughty daughter
\nof some churl dares to hold me,
\ngrips my russet skin, robs me of my head
\nand puts me in the pantry. At once that girl
\nwith plaited hair who has confined me
\nremembers our meeting. Her eye moistens.
\n(An onion.)
\nA strange thing hangs by a man\u2019s thigh,
\nhidden by a garment. It has a hole
\nin its head. It is stiff and strong
\nand its firm bearing reaps a reward.
\nWhen the man hitches his clothing high
\nabove his knee, he wants the head
\nof that hanging thing to poke the old hole
\n(of fitting length) it has often filled before.
\n(A key.)
\nA young man made for the corner where he knew
\nshe was standing; this strapping youth
\nhad come some way \u2014 with his own hands
\nhe whipped up her dress, and under her girdle
\n(as she stood there) thrust something stiff,
\nworked his will; they both shook.
\nThis fellow quickened: one moment he was
\nforceful, a first-rate servant, so strenuous
\nthat the next he was knocked up, quite
\nblown by his exertion. Beneath the girdle
\na thing began to grow that upstanding men
\noften think of, tenderly, and acquire.
\n(A churn.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Exeter Book, an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry from the 10th century, contains three riddles that seem shockingly risqu\u00e9 until you see the answers: I\u2019m a strange creature, for I satisfy women, a service to the neighbors! No one suffers at my hands except for my slayer. I grow very tall, erect in a bed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}