Pyramids

[Odin]

I remember when I was interested in the paranormal the claim that pyramids sharpen razor blades. Is there any evidence for this? If there isn't where did the idea originate?

 

[Spektator]

I tried this. Nothing happened to the razor, but the pyramid gradually got duller and duller. Maybe I shouldn't have constructed it of ice cubes.

 

[Hastur]

I doubt the pyramid shape would make a razor blade any sharper. The quality of the pyramid's material might make a difference in producing a better edge, though. But then again, that makes the difference in any good sharpener.

 

[c4ts]

How do you objectively test a quality like a razor's sharpness?

 

[Ed]

Didn't Martin Gardner start this hoax in an April issue of Scientific American or am I remembering incorrectly?

 

[NoZed Avenger]

I doubt the pyramid shape would make a razor blade any sharper. The quality of the pyramid's material might make a difference in producing a better edge, though. But then again, that makes the difference in any good sharpener.

No, no -- the pyramid never touches the blade of the razor -- the razor is sharpened by the shape with no physical contact.

It is all very, very scientific.


Singing: "But the mayan panoramas on my pyramid pajamas haven't helped my little problem."


N/A

 

[Ashles]

Ooh ooh! I remember this one.

You make a small pyramid and keep the razor blade inside it and stays sharp.

I remember reading in one of my many mystery books that soldiers in the trenches in the First and Second World Wars used to do this.

But the legend appears to have started with a Czech Engineer, Karel Dribal, in the mid 1960s (isn't the Internet great!).

Short history of pyramidology

I think this is just one of those faddy ideas that came and went.

Lets face it, it's easily testable and if it was in any way true I think we'd have heard about it.

 

[Psiload]

Ooh ooh! I remember this one.

You make a small pyramid and keep the razor blade inside it and stays sharp.

I remember reading in one of my many mystery books that soldiers in the trenches in the First and Second World Wars used to do this.

But the legend appears to have started with a Czech Engineer, Karel Dribal, in the mid 1960s (isn't the Internet great!).

Short history of pyramidology

I think this is just one of those faddy ideas that came and went.

Lets face it, it's easily testable and if it was in any way true I think we'd have heard about it.

I believe the proper term for this is pyramidiocy

 

[Odin]

The paranormal books that I used to read were quite old so it seems the idea has died out since they were published.

 

[IIRichard]

How do you objectively test a quality like a razor's sharpness?

Well you have a test material, say a block of lead, and a spring loaded pusher that exerts the same force each time. Measure the depth of penetration before and after. Kinda like testing hardness in reverse.

 

[Skeptic_Sergeant]

The myth is that if you place a dull razorblade under a pyramid shaped object that the razor will be somehow sharpened and will avoid corrosion. There is no scientific evidence for this that I can find, nor did I expect to find any. At most I would say that placing any object on a razor blade would protect it from damage and keep it relatively safe from splashing water to prevent corrosion.

The myth starts with a Frenchman named Bovis who found a dead animal in a tomb in a pyramid. The animal had not yet decayed so instead of attributing that to the dry climate he assumed that it was because of some power pyramids have. He did some questionable experiments and found that perishable foods tended to last longer under a pyramid shaped object. A Czech named Karel Drbal got wind of this experiment and wondered if this same “phenomenon” would prevent corrosion. He found that it did and also sharpened razor blades. He then patented an item using this idea. My guess is that he was just a con-man eager to take advantage of the scarcity of razor blades
in Czechoslovakia at the time.

 

[Traveller]

I read once, although I have never tested it and can't think of any reason why it should be true, that any razor blade will recover some of its sharpness if left for a day or so. At one time, the article claimed, people used to keep several razors, and use them in rotation.

 

[joesixpack]

I read once, although I have never tested it and can't think of any reason why it should be true, that any razor blade will recover some of its sharpness if left for a day or so. At one time, the article claimed, people used to keep several razors, and use them in rotation.

This was, I think, a bit of salesmanship on the part of straight-razor manufacturers to sell more razors. I don't believe there is any truth to it. The problem for razor manufacturers was that their product would only need replacement when it actually broke. A high quality straight razor will last, quite literaly, a century or more (I have one I inherited from my great uncle that is over 100 years old, and it still gives a great shave). Once everyone had one, there was never a need to buy another. At the turn of the century (not the most recent one, the other one) manufacturers were starting to sell 7 day sets along with the BS that razors needed a "rest" between uses. All they really need is a stropping before every use and sharpening about once every six months.

Then King Gillette came along, and all but a few of the razor makers went out of business

 

[joesixpack]

I think the real question is weather or not Occam's razor will get sharper if placed inside a pyramid. And will it remain free of rust?


Hmmmm...

 

[El_Spectre]

How do you objectively test a quality like a razor's sharpness?

I'd imagine you put a specific amount of force behind it and have it cut some material. Do this with several blades and some will cut deeper than others.

 

[El_Spectre]

Hey, stone pyramids will absolutely sharpen blades.

Preferably if inclined at 22.5 degrees

 

[Luke T.]

My very first empirical test as a junior skeptic was a test of pyramid power. I had heard about the razor blade deal. But there was also a claim that it would keep food fresh longer. A specific example given was an apple wouldn't rot as quickly inside a pyramid.

I carefully read the instructions of the proper dimensions/ratios of the pyramid and built one. I also built a platform for the inside of the pyramid. You couldn't just place a razor or apple slice on the bottom of the pyramid. It had to be at a proper height inside the pyramid.

It also had to be properly aligned with the earth's magnetic fields. Very important!

So there it was in my parents' attic. A pyramid with an apple slice inside it, and one outside it on the floor.

Anyone care to guess the result of this test?

 

[Ipecac]

This stupidity even indirectly leached into Star Trek. In one episode of Deep Space Nine, Odo (a shapeshifter) was teaching a baby shapeshifter to mimic various shapes. He held up a cube, a sphere, etc. When he got to the pyramid, he said, "This is a pyramid, one of nature's most mysterious shapes."

Mysterious?

The show wasn't touting the razor-sharpening abilities of pyramids, but the poorly considered dialogue clearly was influenced by all the talk of pyramid power.

 

[Bikewer]

As Traveller noted, setting a razor aside for a few days will let it "sharpen" somewhat, a condition noticed even by Mark Twain, back when everyone used straight razors.

Has to do with the molecular structure of a razor's edge, as I recall, which is anything but smooth. The tiny irregularities will tend to "spring back" to their original shape after being bent by shaving.

I recall the height of the "pyramid power" craze, with all sorts of devices being sold, even framework jobs big enough to meditate or sleep in.

 

[crimresearch]

It has however, been demonstrated that pyramid power can make a whole pile of money vanish into thin air...

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=1910207