Manchester Statues: Archimedes

National World - LocalTV

Continuing with our tour of some of Manchester’s most prominent statues, we’ve had a look at the Archimedes statue that sits just outside of the University of Manchester

Transcript

00:00Let's have a talk about some of the statues in Manchester.

00:02This is the 9th part of a series of explainers where I'll take a look at some of the most prominent statues in Manchester

00:08and explain a little bit about their history and why they're important to the city.

00:12Today we're going to be talking about the statue of Archimedes

00:15which can be found underneath the railway arches on Altringham Street.

00:18It shows the ancient Greek mathematician leaping from his bathtub as he experiences his famous Eureka moment.

00:24Now the story goes that King Hiero II of Greece believed a crown made for him had been laced with silver,

00:28making it less valuable, with Archimedes, as one of Greece's best scientific minds,

00:32given the task of working it out without melting down the crown, because the king actually quite liked it.

00:37It took him a long time to work out some form of test,

00:39but it eventually came to him as he noticed that as he got into the bathtub, the water level rose.

00:44Eureka, he screamed and ran around the street naked because it had given him the idea of displacement.

00:49Now the statue was previously left unguarded, but its nose was broken off

00:52and now it has to be surrounded by railings just outside the University of Manchester.

00:56And it's now a symbol of academic prowess and excellence.

00:59Follow Manchester World for more.

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