Adam Rutherford's four volume work "Pyramidology" contains some of the most extreme examples of Pyramidiot gobbledygook that I know of. The books also contain useful information and interesting photos but trying to read them is a tough job. Unfortunately it's not unusual for him to say that a particular point will be explained "in volume V" and he also promised an index but he died before it was published. I have a letter written by Rutherford in 1970 when he must have been a very old man but whether he actually started volume V I don't know.

Recent threads here reminded me of one of Rutherford's obsessions and that was "The Death Factor". Rutherford was always on the look out for "coincidental measurements" and was keen to attribute them some meaning.

One of his favourites was 37.995 pyramid inches (one pyramid inch=1.00106 British inches). For reasons that are far too complicated to précis, or understand to be honest, he calls this measurement "The Death Factor" and lists its appearances.

1. The vertical height of the Entrance into the Descending Passage.

2. The distance from the East Wall of the Descending Passage to the beginning of the West Wall of the Subterranean Chamber.

3. The length of the Subterranean Chamber minus the cubic diagonal of the King's Chamber.

He lists three more "appearances" which get even more complicated and ends with "Twice the difference between the cubic diagonal and the height of the King's Chamber plus twice the Death Factor". This last one he describes as "The Double Death Factor".

This "Double Death Factor" is represented by the very narrow, dead end, tunnel leading off the Subterranean Chamber. This, according to Rutherford, represents "The Second Death spoken of in Revelations."

Rutherford's religious mania (it really is a mania as is clear if you read his book) followed on from the works of Smyth and others and although he respected Petrie he can be very rude about him.

Today the pyramidiots are still with us but more on the web than in print and many have found a new god in mathematics.

I wonder how their work will appear in another century?