Science | Archimedes' Principle Explained

How did Archimedes really develop his principle of displacement? Quiet at the back there. You might learn something… 

Wasn’t it something about him dashing out of a bath naked, shouting “Eureka”? Sorry, but no. Happily, the unembellished story is almost as exciting and you can feel incredibly smug the next time someone tells the ‘Eureka’ story by correcting them gently. Here’s what really happened. 

It all began when the rather suspicious-minded King Heiron II of Syracuse commissioned a crown to be made from pure gold. Characteristically, when the crown arrived, the King decided that he may have been tricked and perhaps the crown-maker had used some silver in there to make it cheaper. The King asked Archimedes to work out the truth of the matter. 

Archimedes took a mass of silver and a mass of gold, each equal in weight to that of the crown. We wish we had masses of gold and silver just hanging about the house but that’s not for here… He filled a bowl of water to the brim, put the silver mass in and measured the water displaced by it. He then repeated this with the gold. He found that the gold displaced less water than the silver, meaning the silver must be heavier. 

Next, like Poirot wrapping up an investigation, he refilled the water and put the crown in it. The crown displaced more water than the mass of gold did and the little grey cells immediately deduced that the crown must therefore contain silver as well as gold. “Eureka!”, he almost certainly did not say.

If you feel like a lovely big bath is missing from this story, you might instead enjoy our ‘My Place’ feature from April, which this month features spaces in which you can enjoy a soak in the tub. We particularly fancied a soak in the bath above, which belongs to @honeyjoyhome. 

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More inspiration to be found in the bath…

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Make | Homemade Bath Salts

Just a light sprinkling of these soothing salts will turn bathtime into a luxuruious treat

You will need:

120g Epsom salts

120g pink Himalayan salt

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

10 drops each of your choice of essential oils (we used Moroccan rose, lavender and chamomile)

1 tbsp dried flower petals (we used rose, lavender and chamomile)

Airtight glass jar (a Mason jar

or apothecary jar look pretty)

Equipment:

Bowl

Spoon

For giving:

Ribbon and gift tag

1 Mix the salts and bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl.

2 Add 10 drops each of your essential oils and mix together, ensuring everything is evenly distributed. Then add the dried flower petals.

3 Decant the bath salts into your jar and decorate with a ribbon and gift tag with your message and the following instructions: “Dissolve a handful of salts in a hot bath. Store in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.”

These bath salts are just one of the makes from our feature, The Personal Touch, in our November issue, taken from The Art of Gifting Naturally by Angela Maynard (Hardie Grant).

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Inspiration | In The Bath

Rub a dub dub, ideas from the tub

Many of us find inspiration hits us when we’re soaking in the bath. In our busy lives, we don’t often get the chance to enjoy a few moments of quiet relaxation, and that’s often when ideas have the chance to bubble to the surface, along with the loofah. 

Here are a few notable people for whom the bath has been a place of inspiration. Have a read and perhaps you’ll be inspired to run a bath yourself and have a soak. 

Archimedes

The Greek scholar allegedly discovered displacement when he stepped in the bath and noted that the water level rose as he entered it, meaning the volume of water displaced must be the same as the volume of the object submerged. He was apparently so excited that (after shouting ‘Eureka!’) he ran naked through the streets of Syracuse. 

Sylvia Plath

The American poet found deep inspiration in the bath. Here she is writing in ‘The Bell Jar’ about how a bath solves everything. 

“There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them. Whenever I’m sad I’m going to die, or so nervous I can’t sleep, or in love with somebody I won’t be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say : “I’ll go take a hot bath.”

I remember the ceiling over every bathtub I’ve stretched out in. I remember the texture of the ceilings and the cracks and the colors and the damp spots and the light fixtures. I remember the tubs, too : the antique griffin-legged tubs, and the modern coffin-shaped tubs, and the fancy pink marble tubs overlooking indoor lily ponds, and I remember the shape and sizes of the water taps and the different sort of soap holders. I never feel so much myself as when I’m in a hot bath…

The longer I lay there in the clear hot water the purer I felt, and when I stepped out at last and wrapped myself in one of the big, soft white hotel bath towels I felt pure and sweet as a baby.”

Shigeru Miyamoto

The legendary games designer had a vintage bath tub as a perk at his office at Nintendo. During a highly stressful work period for him in the 1980s when he was under pressure to come up with a game, his bath inspired him to design Donkey Kong. We’re not sure what the links between baths and donkeys is, but we can see how it might have inspired his next great game, featuring two plumbers now known to the world as Mario and Luigi. 

Agatha Christie

Is said to have found inspiration for her crime novels while soaking in the tub and eating apples. She’d often be there so long she’d end up surrounded by a ring of apple cores discarded around the edge of the bath. 

Douglas Adams

The author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy loved a bath and often found ideas there. His old flatmate has often reminisced about Adams’ hour-and-a-half-long baths, and the fact that if he wasn’t in one, he was just out of one, or about to get into one. 

Winston Churchill

The former Prime Minister was a lover of long and frequent baths and is said to have strategised for World War Two from the bath. 

Benjamin Britten

Composer Benjamin Britten is said to have religiously taken a freezing cold bath in the mornings and a scalding hot one at night. We can’t say it <definitely> helped with his Piano Concerto, but it surely can’t have done any harm?

Steve Jobs

Ok, it’s not strictly a bath but needs must when you’re launching Apple Inc. Steve Jobs is said to have found a little quiet and relaxation in the loos at Apple, dangling his feet into the toilet bowl to give them a soak. 

The beautiful bath (and dog) pictured above are one of the bathrooms featured on our My Place feature in our September issue. Find more inspirational places to soak starting on p112 of the issue.

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Make | No More Sick Days bath soak

A soothing soak to add to your bath and banish sniffles and aches

Body aches and sinus pressure be gone – this soothing soak is designed for when you’re feeling under the weather. Epsom salt works wonders on the sore muscles associated with cold and flu symptoms. Plus, this blend of essential oils will help decongest nasal passages.

This will make a large jar: enough for three much-needed baths.

240g Epsom salt
375g bicarbonate of soda
5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
5 drops of vanilla essential oil (or vanilla extract)
3 drops of tea tree essential oil

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and store in a glass jar with an airtight lid. It will keep at room temperature for up to six months.

This ‘recipe’ is just one of the makes in our feature The Home Apothecary in our January issue, which also has instructions on how to make body scrubs, creams, face masks and more, all from the comfort of your kitchen.

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Lavender and peppermint bath soak

If you’re in need of a good night’s sleep, the essential oils in this bath soak will leave you feeling extra relaxed, while the naturally therapeutic salts will soothe muscles and comfort irritated skin. Aaaaah. That’s better...

Makes 700g (enough for a week of baths)
600g Epsom salts*
75g sea salt
160g bicarbonate of soda
20 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops peppermint essential oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and then tip them into a jar or another airtight container. The salts can be stored for up to three months. When you come to use them, pour about 100g into the bath while the water is running. Use your salts as often as you like. For a
truly luxurious experience, sprinkle a few flower heads into the bath.
* Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) have been used for their therapeutic effect on aching joints and muscles for over a century. Used with potassium- and iodine- rich sea salt, these minerals are absorbed directly into the skin and will also help soothe dermatitis and any inflammation. Avoid using if pregnant.

From The Art of the Natural Home by Rebecca Sullivan (Kyle Books).

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View the sampler here.

More from the September issue:

More homemade skincare:

Make your own bath bombs

These bath bombs are fun to make and the reward for your efforts is a long soak in a heavenly scented bath. Kids love them and if you can bear to give them away, they make great gifts.

For about eight bombs you will need:

440g baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) 
180g cornstarch (cornflour)
220g citric acid
110g Epsom salts
2 to 4 tbsp water
food colouring (optional)
20 drops essential oil* (optional)
a stiff plastic or metal mould, like a muffin tin

1 In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp of the water with the food colouring and essential oils.
2 Stirring the dry mixture constantly with a whisk, drizzle in the wet mixture a drop at a time until it just holds together if you squeeze a bit in one hand. If it doesn’t hold at all, drizzle more drops of water, one or two at a time. If you start to see fizzing, that means there is too much water in one area and you should stir that area quickly to distribute the moisture. Be warned it doesn’t take much water so keep stirring and go slow.
3 Pack the mixture into moulds tightly, then smooth the surface of each bomb. Carefully unmould them onto a flat, dry surface. If any break during unmolding, just scoop up the crumbs and repack them in the mould. Let the bath bombs dry for about 24 hours, until fully dry. They should keep for up to six months.
4 Fill a tub with hot water and drop in 1 or 2 bath bombs. Relax... 

From The Hands-On Home by Erica Strauss (Sasquatch Books).
Photography by Charity Burrgraaf.

* Try matching the colour and fragrance, eg purple with lavender essential oil and a pale yellow-green with lemongrass.

Read more:

From the April issue

Homemade salt scrubs

Homemade reed diffuser

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The joy of a long hot soak

This month in our series on what makes a house a home, we relish the indulgence of wallowing in a warm, scented and foaming bath.

Shut the bathroom door, run the hot tap, light the candles and, in an instant, your utilitarian bathroom becomes a place of self indulgence. No other room has such a dual personality, switching from morning wash house to evening mini-spa with the simple addition of a few tea lights and a bottle of Matey. 

The power of a long hot soak is undeniable: it can help de-kink any annoying mental and physical niggles that have built up during the day, and it offers a space to think away from the commotion going on in the rest of the house. 
The most successful baths are a sensory overload – stroke and coddle your five senses and an hour or so of bliss will be yours. 

Turn to page 116 of February's The Simple Things for five tips on choosing and running the perfect bath. 

And have a listen to our favourite tub soakin’ tunes in our Spotify playlist.

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Words and playlist: Clare Gogerty