Humpty Dumpty's hideous truth revealed and it's haunting people

One of the most cherished nursery rhymes, known and loved by many, actually has a darker meaning.

A viral tweet drew attention to a question we've never really asked ourselves, who is Humpty Dumpty?

For decades, we've assumed it to be an egg without question, but if we recall the lyrics, there's no mention:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

"Who decided Humpty Dumpty was an egg?" The tweet asked. "It's not in the lyrics, and deciding he's a giant egg is quite a random leap for someone to make, and everyone else being like, 'yeah, a giant egg on a wall. Of course.'"

She hilariously followed up by quizzing: "Also, imagine having NO ARMY because they're busy fixing a broken egg. The king sent literally EVERYONE out to save the giant egg who isn't actually an egg, leaving the realm wide open for attack."

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The post sent fellow Twitter users spiralling, with one writing: "This has been haunting me for years."

Another person thanked her for posing the question, as she confessed the mystery "troubled her for ages."

So, how did we all collectively jump to the conclusion that the nursery rhyme was about a giant egg sitting on a wall?

Luckily, Jane Etheridge, Vice Chair of Federation of Children's Book Groups, responded: "It's believed to be Roundhead propaganda about a Royalist cannon. First appearance as an egg was in Through the Looking Glass.

Many other theories followed, with another claiming that Humpty Dumpty tells the story of King Richard III and his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

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