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Archimedes knew when someone was trying to trick him
Answers for Globle, Metazooa, Chronogram and more from Oct 27 - Nov 2
Abe Train
November 03, 2025
Coming to your inbox every Monday with a brand new fun-fact and all the answers to Trainwreck Labs games from the past week.
This week, we have…
A fun fact inspired by Chronogram
Answers to last week's games
Reader survey
Archimedes knew when someone was trying to trick him
The Archimedes trick doesn’t work if you’re trying to verify the authenticity of your Labubu, but it does work if you’re just trying to get it wet.
Picture this: you're stepping into a bath, when suddenly you shout out in excitement and run naked through the streets. It sounds like a Saturday night gone horribly right, but according to legend, it's actually the origin story of the phrase "Eureka!" The story centres on Archimedes (Chronogram guest #945), one of ancient Greece's greatest mathematicians and inventors.
Archimedes was tasked with a tricky problem by King Hiero II: determine whether the royal crown was made of pure gold or if it had been secretly mixed with silver, without damaging the crown. While pondering the dilemma, Archimedes noticed that the water level in his bath rose as he got in. That's when inspiration struck. He realized he could measure the crown's volume by the water it displaced and compare its density to pure gold. The legend goes that Archimedes was so thrilled by his discovery, he leapt from his bath and ran through Syracuse shouting "Eureka!" (Greek for "I have found it!").
This wasn't just a quirky story. The tale illustrates the principle of displacement, now known as Archimedes' Principle, which he did definitively establish. This principle is still used today, from ships staying afloat to measuring the volume of irregularly shaped objects. So next time you hear someone cry "Eureka!" after a lightbulb moment, remember they're echoing a tradition that stretches back over two thousand years, whether or not it actually started in a bath!
Learn more: Scientific American
Trivia
Before Archimedes was killed by invading Roman soldiers, what were his last words? |
Answers to last week's games
Monday, October 27 to Sunday, November 2.
Globle
| Globle: Capitals
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Chronogram
| Fictogram
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Metazooa
| Metaflora
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Linxicon
The following are the shortest paths from last week:
#622 temporary → enclosed → surround
#623 sales → customer → fellow
#624 warm → heat → explanation → example
#625 passenger → drove → attempted → attempt
#626 day → yesterday → now → thus
#627 real → realisation → realise → centre → central
#628 length → small → child → adopt
#629 Play now!
Elemingle
#278 Flerovium
#279 Francium
#280 Palladium
#281 Praseodymium
#282 Nobelium
#283 Ruthenium
#284 Livermorium
#285 Play now!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
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