When my kids were little, we did a homeschool unit study that involved one warm, fresh egg from the backyard chicken coop. We set it end-up in a baking pan, and then began to stack books on top. We had penciled our guesses about how many books the egg would support before it collapsed, and were remarkably wrong. Phone books, cookbooks, math books and pottery books piled higher and higher, and still the egg held firm. Of course, it finally succumbed with a satisfying splat, but the integrity of that little eggshell curve had our attention. So we researched the Roman aqueducts, the ancient Mesopotamian Taq-i Kisra, famous cathedrals and the architecture of Gaudi with a whole new appreciation. Conclusion: a catenary arch is nothing short of magic.
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