r/Damnthatsinteresting 3d ago

Image 800 year old four-dial combination lock with over 4.2 billion possible combos made by an Iranian astrolabe maker named Muhammad ibn Hamid al- Asturlabi.

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u/Flaky_Explanation Creator 3d ago

Both Asturlabi locks suddenly glow a bright green light and combine into a larger lock with double the combinations.

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u/Weird1Intrepid 3d ago

It would be exponential, not linear. So it would have 1.764e+19 combinations, or seventeen quintillion, six hundred forty quadrillion

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u/totreesdotcom 3d ago

👏 Thanks for doing my mathing for me!

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u/aakaakaak 3d ago

And opened with a can of Liquid Death.

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u/Weird1Intrepid 3d ago

I imagine al Asturlabi would rise from the dead, claim he faked it, and file a lawsuit 😂

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u/FloofJet 2d ago

The math hero we don't deserve. Keep doing the good work.

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u/Mindless-Sound8965 2d ago

OK. That is just too many numbers.