The Ancient Greek Scientist Who Didn't Build a Death Ray

Join us as we dive into one of ancient history's most persistent myths: Archimedes' legendary death ray. From Ancient Aliens' claims of extraterrestrial technology to Mythbusters' multiple attempts to recreate it, we explore how this mathematical genius became associated with a weapon that probably never existed. But don't worry - we'll also discover the actually-awesome Claw of Archimedes, talk about why steampunk deserved better, and learn how the same principles behind this mythical death ray are now being used to fight climate change. Plus: why running naked through the streets shouting "Eureka" probably didn't happen either (sorry).

Get new episodes early and support the show on Patreon and Nebula!

Subscribe to It's Probably (not) Aliens for weekly episodes about cool ancient history! And give us a 5-star review if you have the time. It really helps us out!

Tristan Johnson Bluesky | Twitter | YouTube

Scott Niswander Bluesky | Twitter | YouTube

Follow the show on Bluesky or Twitter for more updates!

Ask us questions and send us topics to talk about at ProbsNotAliens.com

Music by Rod Kim | Cover art by Skutch

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.