WEBVTT - The Artifact: The Shining Pyramid

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>and moments in time. If you happen to be an

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<v Speaker 1>admirer of the early eighties rap and dance music scene

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<v Speaker 1>in l A, then you may have heard of the

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<v Speaker 1>Egyptian Lover. Gregory Broussard based his entire musical persona on

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<v Speaker 1>a kind of mash up of ancient Egypt and synthesizer

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<v Speaker 1>age living. His lyrics frequently refer to the Nile, as

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<v Speaker 1>well as gold speakers and water beds. But amid all

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<v Speaker 1>this hip hop Egypt Domania, one particular lyric fragment stands

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<v Speaker 1>out from the song Egypt Egypt of his debut album

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<v Speaker 1>on the Nile quote, pyramids are also shiny. The women

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<v Speaker 1>here are also cute. The freaks are on the floor

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<v Speaker 1>now dancing to beats that I compute. We, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>should not spend too much time comparing the Nile King's

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<v Speaker 1>lyrics here to actual ancient Egyptian history, Yet that first

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<v Speaker 1>line is quite enticing. Pyramids are as shiny, are they Well,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe not anymore. Without a doubt, the Pyramids of Giza

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<v Speaker 1>are awe inspiring works of human endeavor. The Great Pyramid,

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<v Speaker 1>built in the twenty century b c e. Towers four

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and forty nine point five ft or a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and thirty seven ms, and is estimated to contain two

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<v Speaker 1>point three million stone blocks, each waying two point five

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<v Speaker 1>to fifteen tons. It was the tallest structure in the

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<v Speaker 1>world for more than four thousand years, and even today

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<v Speaker 1>it stands taller than such landmarks as the Statue of

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<v Speaker 1>Liberty and Big Ben And the Great Pyramid was once

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<v Speaker 1>even taller thirty one ft or nine point five meters

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<v Speaker 1>taller to be exact. As you can probably guess, this

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<v Speaker 1>is because humans have absconded with materials from the Great

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<v Speaker 1>Pyramid over the millennia. This includes the cap stone or

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<v Speaker 1>pyramid ian, which has been lost since antiquity, but it

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<v Speaker 1>also entails the white limestone casing that once covered it entirely. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>the Great Pyramid would not only have been also shiny,

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<v Speaker 1>it would have gleamed with the brilliance of the sun,

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<v Speaker 1>visible from various important ancient sites. The divine brilliance of

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<v Speaker 1>the god Ray would have seen part of the construction itself.

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<v Speaker 1>As Gary Shaw pointed out in a article for Apollo Magazine,

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<v Speaker 1>the ancient Egyptians sourced the casings limestone from the Toura quarries,

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<v Speaker 1>separate from the source of the pyramids lower quality limestone interior.

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<v Speaker 1>When noted. Islamic traveler and polymath A Latif al Baghdadi

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<v Speaker 1>visited the Great Pyramid during the twelfth century CE, much

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<v Speaker 1>of the outer casing was still in place, and he

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<v Speaker 1>described untranslated inscriptions in the casing as well. But in

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<v Speaker 1>time this limestone, too would steadily vanish to be repurposed

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<v Speaker 1>into the works of medieval Cairo. Tune into additional editions

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<v Speaker 1>of the artifact each week hosted by either Joe or myself.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, you can email us at contact at stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your

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<v Speaker 1>Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.