The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining intact ancient wonder of the world and one of the most impressive engineering feats in the history of humanity. But while the pyramids are so impressive that some people don't even believe ancient humans could have made them, we believe that their creation deserves celebration, and just because you can't envision them being built yourself, doesn't mean people were always as dumb as you. Here are 20 mind-blowing facts about, party assembled by Culture Critic, to celebrate the pyramids.
Did you know that the pyramids face geographical north almost perfectly? Instead of facing magnetic north, the structures face true north to an accuracy almost inconceivable; less than one millimeter off. In a structure weighing around 6 million tons, that's pretty spectacular. Can you imagine laying all that stone only to be told to redo it because you're off by a couple of centimeters?
The pyramids stand on their own today, but it's important to realize that they were not always that way. The pyramids were part of a much larger and busier complex, but those other structures weren't able to stand the test of time the way the pyramids could. See those, and 18 other awesome facts about the pyramids right here.
1
Very few Egyptian texts actually mention the construction of the Pyramids. The best we have on their construction are these papyrus fragments, discovered in 2013, which mention the delivery of limestone blocks via the Nile River.
2
The pyramids face true north, not magnetic north, to high levels of accuracy. The Great Pyramid is just 3.4 arcminutes - less than one millimeter - off of perfect alignment.
3
The Great Pyramid was the tallest building in the world for almost 3,900 years. It was eventually surpassed by the Lincoln Cathedral during the 14th century.
4
The pyramids were once covered in gleaming white limestone casing. Some researchers also think the capstones were plated with gold and other precious metals.
5
The Great Pyramid is made up of 2.3 million stone blocks, weighing 2.5 tons each. They were mined with copper saws, chisels, and not much else.
6
The inner chamber blocks and casing stones of the Great Pyramid were cut and fit together with such high precision that a razor blade cannot fit between them. Some weigh as much as 80 tons.
7
The pyramids themselves do not contain a single hieroglyph. Unlike other tombs, there were also no paintings or treasures found within.
8
Nubia, Sudan was once a part of Ancient Egypt, and has twice as many pyramids as Egypt, although they’re much smaller.
9
When Napoleon visited in the late 18th century, he calculated that the Great Pyramid contained enough material for a 10-foot high wall around the entire perimeter of mainland France. It's believed he performed this calculation himself.
10
The Great Wall of China and the Three Gorges Dam are the only structures that weigh more than the great Pyramid. It is about 6 million tons.
11
Cleopatra lived closer in time to today than she did to the construction of the pyramids.
12
The wooly mammoth still roamed the earth while the great pyramids were being built.
13
The inside of The Great Pyramid.
14
The sides are divisible by Pi because it was hypothesized that they used large circles to measure them.
15
The basis of pyramidal designs was most likely the worshiped Benben stone.
16
The pyramids were not standalone structures but were part of a comprehensive complex that extended beyond the pyramid itself.
17
The speed of light in meters per second is the same as the latitude of the great pyramid.
18
The pyramids were not built by slaves as commonly thought, but by peasants who were fairly paid for their work.
19
The Great Sphinx protects the Pyramids.
20
The location made it easy for transportation of materials, and is at the west bank of river Nile, “the land of the setting sun.”
21
The curse of Pharaoh is said to have offered protection to the pyramids, and everything in it, including pharaoh’s family and belongings. Many of the people studying the pyramids have been hit with bad luck.
22
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only remaining wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
23
The Great Pyramid's sides are concave, meaning it actually has 8 sides.
