One of the most famous stories about Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 B.C.) involves a bathtub. As recounted by the Roman architect Vitruvius (90–20 B.C.), the tale has Archimedes pondering the problem of determining the volume of a sacred wreath. The wreath was supposedly made of pure gold, and Archimedes had to determine whether the goldsmith had replaced some of the gold with silver.
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