Page 124 - The Irony Board

Into the Cosmos

Can’t a lever,
Archimedes—

Responsible
Man of science—

Pop the planet
Out of orbit?

Man has the unfortunate ability to translate theory into practice.
No sooner had Archimedes formulated the principle of leverage
than he designed an experiment to prove his point: give him, he
challenged, a place to stand, a fulcrum, and a very long lever, and he
would move the Earth. This may be the first recorded example of a
scientist proposing massive destruction as a test of his theoretical
discovery. No doubt he could have gotten funding for his project by
pointing out that if the Sicilians did not get moving fast enough, the
Romans would beat them to it. The first line’s pun adds a touch of
precariousness to the proceedings.

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