Pyrite: best known for “could be a conductor of electricity” and totally not “could be gold”
Do we not actually know if pyrite conducts electricity or not? This seems like Nobel Prize territory right here.
Semiconductor (6th paragraph down under uses)
But TIL they’re used a cheap solar panel part
This is some real dumb shit. While there is still a lot of archaeological work to be done at Teotihuacan. It was a city center.
The liquid mercury bit was a piece of folkloric art, using the various precious metals and jewels as a representation of a landscape under the stars. The mercury represented lakes on the landscape.
Dumb shit is far dumber than the cool shit they were doing artistically.
Is be a lot more impressed if they found solid mercury under the pyramid. It would be amazing that they managed to keep it that cold for so long.
Meanwhile in ancient everywhere: Hey check out this cool shit! It must be magic, so let’s this it inside the temple. Oh and throw some of those shiny yellow sun idol things in there that Bob made.
They lived a long time ago, therefore they had to be stupid. I find this offensive. An ancient Greek philosopher calculated the circumfrence of the Earth with pretty decent accuracy given the tools available to him at the time. The ancient Egyptians were not dumbasses unable to make observations and record them over time.
