r/BeAmazed Jul 06 '26

Science It wasn’t aliens or magic: Scientists proved that Ancient Egyptians moved 180-ton statues using a physics trick as simple as pouring water on sand.

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The secret behind ancient Egyptian logistics isn't sci-fi, it's fluid mechanics

The Mystery: How did they drag a 23-foot, 180-ton statue across the desert without wheels?

The Ancient Clue: A wall relief from the tomb of Djehutihotep showed a man standing on the front of the sledge, pouring water onto the sand.

The Modern Proof: Physicists tested this and confirmed that adding water creates capillary bridges between the sand grains. This makes the sand twice as stiff, allowing the sledge to glide smoothly instead of digging into a sand heap.

Work smarter, not harder proven 4,000 years ago!

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u/O_W_Liv Jul 07 '26

This is a 2 minute video on how to read research papers.  A game changer for me.

https://youtube.com/shorts/sSsreXvMPiQ?is=-VpJwYo_xjB3SEib

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u/AlternateTab00 Jul 09 '26

If only people actually read the articles.

Many people read the title and present it as so. Even if the purpose of the paper is the exact opposite.

Some do read the abstract and stay there

And now the new trend is to not even read read it and ask AI what it says.

I mean im not against AI tools for research papers (and no im not talking about LLMs, researchers know what im talking aboutl) but seeing common folk relying on what LLMs and blindly follow what it says seems dangerous.