Wednesday, January 2, 2013

"Go Ahead, I'll Be Right Behind You..."

Because real life is sometimes too cool to fathom, get this story about archeologists in China finding the tomb of an ancient emporer... that many think.. is STILL TOO DANGEROUS TO ENTER!

Yeah, like Indiana Jones, basically.

Although many historians don't think the Chinese "rolled" like that - Egyptians were the ones really keen on crafting giant stone balls to roll over you or crossbows to fire out from hidden passageways - not everybody is totally, 100% sure that it's okay to go in there.
But let's assume that the Chinese were more evil awesome than the Egyptians or Central American cultures, and that they really installed booby traps that triggered deadly crossbows in the emperor's tomb. Even if the old Chinese texts are correct, they might now still work after two thousand years. Perhaps the mechanisms are so rusty that the bolts won't fire. Maybe the wood and the cords used the in the traps have long since been destroyed by bacteria. 
Chinese historian Guo Zhikun argues the contrary. He is one of the main experts on Qinshihuang's burial site, and says that it's very possible that the traps are still active. He claims that the use of chrome in the figures may indicate that the traps received a similar protective treatment. He is sure that "the artisans who built the traps installed crossbows that will fire if any thief tries to get inside."
I say we make a TV show out of it. Get 12 dudes off death row. Strap 'em up with GoPro cameras. Then give 'em a torch. See what happens.

1 comment:

  1. Judging by my home, all that Chinese stuff busted 1,999-and-a-half years ago.

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