this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
372 points (96.3% liked)
Showerthoughts
29590 readers
1844 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Avoid politics (NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out)
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I thought they kept the originals and returned the copies? Plus even if they were copies, the chances that those copies were the only remaining one when it burnt down is pretty high
Barely anything was left in the library by the time it burned down. It's quite a myth that all that much was lost at all. By the time of its destruction, most of its books and knowledge has been moved elsewhere due to decades of reduced funding and support.
Furthermore, the burning did not destroy the entire library. It was a gradual process over a long period of time. What destroyed far more of the books is a lack of care to copy them. Paper and papyrus don't last that long, so the only way to permanently maintain them was by copying them out again. Which is a lot of work.
Oh I didn't know that, that's super interesting! Thanks!