Physics students in the U.K. have calculated the formula for a perfect human pyramid and found that the best suited candidates to achieve maximum height are groups of men, women and children.
The human pyramid is a popular party game as well as a formation used in cheerleading and gymnastics which involves participants kneeling together to form a row, forming a base for another tier of participants who kneel or stand on their shoulders, backs or thighs.
Students Hayley Allison, Jordan Penney, Roger Leyser and Giles Lipscombe at the University of Leicester investigated the science, using basic calculations to try to work out the best formula for constructing the tallest pyramid possible.
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Assuming that all those involved are of average weight, which is 83.6 kg for adult males, 70.2 kg for adult females and 32.2 kg for children, a taller pyramid could be made with a mixture of all three rather than any one group of a single sex or age, reaching up to six tiers.
In comparison, a male-only pyramid would only be able to reach a height of four tiers if the men involved were of the weight of an average male.
This is because similar-weighted individuals would put too much strain on the people at the bottom — and an average male would not be able to hold the weight of more than four tiers of people before the formation would come crashing down.
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The calculations were made in a student paper entitled ‘Pyramid of Geezers’ presented in the Journal of Physics Special Topics, a peer-reviewed student journal run by the Department of Physics and Astronomy.