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Old 08-15-2018, 11:38 AM   #1888
Bruno
 
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
Default Re: Real-Life Weirdness

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anaraxes View Post
The only evident reason for having a dodecahedron if it those graduated hole sizes were actually the main feature, not the knobs around the pentagons, and it was at least cute or amusing to collect a set of twelve in that fashion.
A single dodecahedron has 12 holes, no two the same size, and they don't seem to be of any particular standard size (of holes or of dodecahedron) other than "light enough to hold in one hand comfortably for a while" and "of comfortable length/width/height to manipulate".
There's no "set of 12", and don't actually appear to have been found in sets at all.

I do call shenanigans on the people who say "RITUAL!", because "It's for ritual purposes" is Archaeology-speak for "I don't know what it's for, but I don't want to admit that". Even admitting to yourself that you don't know is uncomfortable sometimes, but that's no excuse for giving up thinking about it.

I also think assuming it can't be a technical tool because it doesn't have numbers or letters written on it is a false assumption; I have a large collection of screwdriver bits for my electric screwdriver, and they're completely unlabeled. In the case of things that come in a bunch of sizes, you often [1] don't actually need to know the exact size, you just need to know you have the size that fits whatever you're doing.

[1] "Often" is not "always", before someone starts nagging me about measuring spoons and keeping your nuts and bolts organized in labeled bins.
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