When I found out that the pyramids of ancient Egypt were originally white but their limestone facing was taken off and reused during medieval times, I realized Peter, in making my birthday cake, revealed the secret for why the pyramids were built in the first place.
After all, he’d muddled over what color to make the pyramid frosting, and finally decided to make it white: without knowing that the original pyramids were the same color. I thought he’d decided to make me a pyramid cake because our homeschool was about to start studying ancient Egypt, but he confessed that wasn’t why.
For years, scholars have wondered why the pharaohs chose this unique shape. Why not a ziggurat, like the Babylonians to the East? Why 4 triangular sides on a perfectly aligned square? Why so big, and why so tall, when all they really were meant as were glorified tombs?
Peter said he made a pyramid cake because it was a cool shape. And I would bet that if you could make a time machine, learn ancient Egyptian, and talk to Imhotep and Cheops, the two of them would tell you that they started the whole pyramid thing because they could do anything, and a pyramid was the coolest thing they could think of.
Mystery solved. Scholars, feel free to persue other subjects now.