Cool Tip: Archimedes, Your Bath is Ready!
- Jun 23, 2015
rchimedes, Your Bath is Ready 
Archimedes, one of the leading mathematicians in ancient Greece, discovered the way to measure the volume of irregular objects through the principle of displacement: if you put an object into liquid, the amount of liquid displaced, is equal to the volume of the object. (And you thought you would learn only about cooking in these Newsletters...) It is said that he discovered this when he was in the bath and noticed how the water overflowed the tub when he got in. He was so excited that he jumped out of the tub shouting ”Eureka” and running through the streets of Syracuse stark naked.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with Cool Tips?
Have you ever wondered how to measure the volume of a piece of butter without melting it or using those funky little markings on some butter wrappings.
Archimedes solved this. Take a measuring cup, put enough cold water in it to cover the butter you want to measure, and note the amount of water. Then add the butter and see to what level the water has risen. Now subtract the original water measurement, and Eureka!, you have the volume of the butter.