Early versions of the rhyme included the words ‘bloody’ and ‘blooming’—and sometimes didn’t feature a spider at all. ByM/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images (spider), VladSt ...

Atwood’s ‘A Book of Nursery Rhymes,’ published in ... pop_jop/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images (speech bubble); Justin Dodd/Mental Floss (background) A common way for kids to decide ...

But probably right at this moment, mothers of small children around the world are mindlessly singing along to seemingly innocuous nursery rhymes that ... Getty Images Oranges and Lemons has ...