# A Raiders of the Lost Ark question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 11, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991 "2023-11-11T17:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/41 "2023-11-13T20:49:42Z")
Lol. Stranger’s post is GOLD. Yeah, I never cared for Raiders. It’s lame. The other two are much better. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/42 "2023-11-13T21:26:44Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I think the largest plot hole is the German Army conducting a massive archeological dig in the Nile Delta despite the fact that Egypt was under British military occupation The _ **Ahnenerbe** _ went all over the world, pre war seeking out mystic or archaeological stuff. Tibet, Antarctica, Hatra, Damascus, Iraq, Bagdad, etc. Remember, this was pre-war. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > There is, of course, the issue that if Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones had just stayed home drinking herbal tea and reading an H. Rider Haggard novel, Belloq would not have found the Ark at all, or if he did would have had his face fried off just the same. The Nazi digging would have found it eventually. And sure, Belloq would have his face fried off- but the Ark would be in nazi hands, not American. Indy got the Ark back into safe hands. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ is a great movie that makes absolutely no sense, from the opening which has Jones hiking in through days of jungle only to escape in a conveniently close seaplane, The seaplane which took him there. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And Indy survives on what for days, s Or a just hours. 350 miles, @17 knots= 20 hours. > [@terentii](#): > > The U-boat presumably doesn’t dive once, in contrast to what they often do. Only if attacked. > [@MaxTheVool](#): > > And if everything happens without Indy there, and the Nazis get their faces melted, but Indy and Marion aren’t there, well, that certainly proves that the Ark is a powerful weapon, but it’s one the Nazis still have, and they’ll keep doing experiments, and, who knows what might eventually happen? Right. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/43 "2023-11-13T21:37:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The _ **Ahnenerbe** _ went all over the world, pre war seeking out mystic or archaeological stuff. Tibet, Antarctica, Hatra, Damascus, Iraq, Bagdad, etc. Remember, this was pre-war. So you think pre-War, the Germans could have had a digging site in British controlled Egypt, protected by at least a company of soldiers equipped with weapons, trucks and motor-bikes, and even an airbase? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/44 "2023-11-13T21:39:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > So you think pre-War, the Germans could have a digging site in British controlled Egypt, protected by at least a company of soldiers equipped with weapons, trucks and bikes, and even an airbase? Why not? They were at peace. But do note that Egypt was legally an independent kingdom since 1922, and an equal sovereign power . ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/45 "2023-11-13T21:43:09Z")
Well, ask “desert fox” Rommel how hard it was to bring troops to Egypt… ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/46 "2023-11-13T21:52:03Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > It was hermetically sealed, not herpetically sealed. [golf clap] ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/47 "2023-11-13T21:57:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But do note that Egypt was legally an independent kingdom since 1922, and an equal sovereign power . The United Kingdom ostensibly recognized the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Egypt but controlled trade, communications, foreign relations, and trained and oversaw their military, as well as maintaining a large military presence in Egypt as well as complete control over Sudan, Transjordan, and Mandatory Palestine. It is unclear how the German Army could move significant men and materiel into Egypt without the British and Egyptian authorities taking notice, and it isn’t as if Tanis is in some distant western area of Egypt; it is right up in Lower Egypt smack in the east middle of the Nile Delta. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/48 "2023-11-13T22:11:00Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > If Belloq had taken the Ark back to Germany for inspection and display, it might have Tarantino-ed the entire _Oberkommando_ and the Nazi leadership, preemptively ending the Third Reich and forestalling World War II. That’s not what happened to the Philistines. But I like to imagine the Wehrmacht being afflicted with plagues of mice and hemorrhoids. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/49 "2023-11-13T22:11:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > . It is unclear how the German Army could move significant men and materiel into Egypt without the British and Egyptian authorities taking notice, Who said they didnt know about the “body guards”? In fact, it was common to have armed guards on many digs. The point being- after Egypt was bribed to let the Nazis in- would the Brits step in at that point in time to overrule the "sovereign " Egyptian government? It would cause diplomatic issues. Remember, GB and Germany were at peace then. They werent enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/50 "2023-11-13T22:24:19Z")
All the nitpicking is true about Raiders, but it’s still a great movie. And it was based on the serial adventures Spielberg loved as a kid, and they were also short on facts and details in favor of moving the action along. I think he nailed it. The other movies in the franchise were nowhere near as good, in part because they were derivative of the first, and in part because they tried to do too much. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/51 "2023-11-13T22:29:41Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > And it was based on the serial adventures Spielberg loved as a kid Definitely. You could break up the movie into segments, splitting it up where Indy is in a seemingly impossible situation, and, tune in next week! He triggers the Idol, starts running, end the episode. He’s stuck in the Well of Souls as the torches are dying and the snakes are moving in, end the episode. He hanging from the front of the truck, end the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/52 "2023-11-13T22:31:08Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > That’s not what happened to the Philistines. But I like to imagine the Wehrmacht being afflicted with plagues of mice and hemorrhoids. They kind of were anyway. Between all of the predictable labor and resource shortages, political infighting, the Wehrmacht getting bogged down in the Eastern Front and in the Caucasus, the general incompetence of much of the High Command, and Hitler getting more and more paranoid about people plotting against him (not entirely without justification), the wheels were coming off the Third Reich almost faster than the Allies could advance. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/53 "2023-11-14T02:55:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > However, the alignment of the Sun will change over the year with seasonal declination change, so I guess Indy lucked into taking his measurements at just the right time of year. I think that’s accounted for, isn’t it? When Indy goes to the map room, there’s a grid of holes in the floor, marked with symbols. He checks his notebook, and then counts down a certain number of holes, blows the sand out, and then puts the staff in that hole. He was looking for the correct hole for the particular date that he was there. There’s another hole nearby that has also been cleared. I always assumed that was from a few days prior, when the Nazis used the map room with their too-long staff. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/54 "2023-11-14T03:05:55Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I think that’s accounted for, isn’t it? When Indy goes to the map room, there’s a grid of holes in the floor, marked with symbols. He checks his notebook, and then counts down a certain number of holes, blows the sand out, and then puts the staff in that hole. He was looking for the correct hole for the particular date that he was there. It’s a good thing those Twenty-second Dynasty Egyptian priests were using the Gregorian calendar! I took the other hole to be an error from not having the text from both sides of the headpiece but your inference makes sense. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/55 "2023-11-14T03:06:36Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It’s a good thing those Twenty-second Dynasty Egyptian priests were using the Gregorian calendar! Not hard to convert to a solar egyptian calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/56 "2023-11-14T03:44:44Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I took the other hole to be an error from not having the text from both sides of the headpiece but your inference makes sense. Yes, the Nazis only had one side of the headpiece, so they didn’t have the full inscription. When they took it to the map room, their staff was too long, but they did place it in the correct hole in the grid for that date. When Indy arrived he cleared a different hole a few spaces away from the one the Nazis had used a few days earlier. While we’re pointing out plot holes, I’m always surprised the Nazis were able to repicate the headpiece so well from the burn scar on Toht’s hand. Maybe they could read the inscription around the edge, but was the scar so precise that they could reproduce the facets in the crystal such that it would still emit a beam of light in the map room? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/57 "2023-11-14T05:35:53Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Let’s say it’s able to shoot darts or drop a boulder or whatever. I’ve always kinda wondered where the hell that big round rolling boulder _went._ ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/58 "2023-11-14T05:50:30Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’ve always kinda wondered where the hell that big round rolling boulder _went._ Back to the prop room… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/59 "2023-11-14T07:09:29Z")
The idea that Indy didnt really do much was popularized in the Big Bang Theory and has been shown to be wrong in several blogs. It’s like, why didnt the Eagle just drop the One Ring into Mt Doom? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991/60 "2023-11-14T10:29:47Z")
Because they were busy carrying the Ark back to Roswell? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-question/992991.md?page=4)