the.com/pyramid
the original flex: a billion-pound math problem stacked by hand to outlive gods.
means A solid geometric shape with a polygonal base whose sides rise to meet at a single apex, most famously the colossal stone tombs built by ancient Egyptian pharaohs.
from From the Greek 'pyramis' (plural 'pyramides'), the word the Greeks used for those Egyptian monuments. The Greeks' own term may be borrowed from the Egyptian word for the structures, though its deeper roots are debated; one charming folk story links it to 'pyra' (fire) or even to a kind of wheat cake shaped like the monuments — but these are likely later wordplay rather than the true source. From Greek the word passed into Latin as 'pyramis' and on into the European languages.
- Build precision
- Aligned to true north within a fraction of a degree
- Older than thought
- Predates woolly mammoths going extinct
- Stone count
- Roughly 2.3 million blocks, hauled without wheels
- Lost shine
- Once cased in polished white limestone, blinding bright
- Tomb myth
- Slaves didn't build them; paid skilled workers did
great pyramid of giza — oldest of seven wonders, built ~2560 bc in egypt, last one still standing
pyramid of khufu — largest pyramid by volume, 2.3 million stone blocks, giza plateau
pyramid of the sun — largest pyramid in americas by volume, teotihuacan mexico, 216m base
bent pyramid of dahshur — unique 54° angle bend visible today, limestone casing still intact, egypt