97. Created in 1913 to fill space in a newspaper (9).
The CROSSWORD first appeared in a New York World supplement 97 years ago today as an answer to journalist Arthur Wynne's space issues.
But Wynne's "wordcross", with 32 clues, not only filled that space, it went on to "seize the American imagination", according to crossword compiler and self-confessed "word nerd" David Astle.
see the rest of the article for a pic of the first crossword