Archimedes – The Genius Who Got Distracted by a Bathtub

Archimedes was a renowned Greek mathematician and inventor who lived in the third century BC. He is best known for discovering the principle of buoyancy, which he realized while he was taking a bath.

The story goes that Archimedes was asked by the king to determine whether a golden crown was pure or if it had been mixed with other metals. While puzzling over the problem, he decided to take a bath to clear his mind. As he lowered himself into the bathtub, he suddenly noticed the water level rising, and he exclaimed “Eureka!” (meaning “I have found it!”)

However, this triumph was short-lived because as he splashed around in the tub, a pesky bat flew by and distracted him. Being the curious type, Archimedes started to observe the bat’s flight and forgot all about the crown.

Soon, he found himself submerged, and the water was spilling out of the tub. His cry for help “I’m drowning!” was heard all over the kingdom. Fortunately, the servants rushed to his aid, and he was rescued from the danger of his own invention.

It is said that after this incident, Archimedes became quite the germaphobe and insisted that his assistants always scrubbed down his bathtub thoroughly before he got in.

Despite this bathtub incident, Archimedes continued to make significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and engineering over the course of his career. He is considered to be one of the most important scientists in history and is also known for his work on levers, pulleys, and the area of a circle.

Archimedes died in 212 BC during the siege of Syracuse, where he reportedly told the invading Roman soldiers to “get off my lawn” before he was killed. His legacy lives on to this day, even if he did occasionally get sidetracked by things like bathtubs.