Ever wonder where the game “rock, paper, scissors” came from? You know the one: “Scissors beat paper: after all they can cut the paper to shreds. Rock beats scissors: after all it can blunt the scissors. And finally paper beats rock because, well, just because.” But why should this be? “The calm assertion of paper’s power to defeat a rock hints at the Chinese origins of the game. In ancient times a petition to the Chinese emperor was symbolized by a rock. The emperor would indicate whether he’d accepted the petition by placing a piece of paper above or below the rock. If the rock was covered by the paper, the petition was refused and the petitioner defeated.” — from Marcus du Sautoy, Around The World In Eighty Games
Sylvia Shults, author 