# "Raiders of the Lost Ark". What was happening when it opened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748 "2012-05-13T02:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/21 "2012-05-13T13:16:43Z")
As Indy says when talking to the G-Men earlier in the move, “Real wrath of God stuff.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/22 "2012-05-13T13:21:14Z")
> [@Reepicheep](#): > > I had also thought, as had **silenus** the sand was the tablets crumbled with age. I thought they had crumbled in the past few days being driven around in car chases and snake pit fights and whatnot. **Martini Enfield** does make a good point though. How exactly would one “weaponize” the Ark of the Covenent? ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/23 "2012-05-13T13:56:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > **Martini Enfield** does make a good point though. How exactly would one “weaponize” the Ark of the Covenent? Stick a note on it that says “Do not open” and send it to the enemy camp? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/24 "2012-05-13T14:21:47Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > What I want to know is, where were the golden hemorrhoids and golden mice? I think the version of the Bible I used to have said “golden tumors”. I can’t decide which is worse… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/25 "2012-05-13T14:50:42Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > **Martini Enfield** does make a good point though. How exactly would one “weaponize” the Ark of the Covenent? In the movie, Indy said that any army that carries the ark before it is invincible. (And after mentioning this, he asked the government agents, “Didn’t either of you go to Sunday School?”) ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/26 "2012-05-13T15:15:02Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > How exactly would one “weaponize” the Ark of the Covenent? As a death ray. It kills anyone that looks at it, so put it somewhere that shields the back from view and add an automatic door opener. Press button, arc opens, everyone within the front 90 degrees of your vehicle gets smited. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/27 "2012-05-13T15:18:40Z")
Which is an ok idea when you are dealing with infantry, but I don’t think it would be very effective against aerial bombs or artillery. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/28 "2012-05-13T16:13:56Z")
This is one of those movies where the protagonist’s efforts were, in the end, completely irrelevant, right? Indy could have stayed at home and finished teaching his class, and the Nazis would have just burned themselves up in their test ceremony anyway. You could argue that maybe he was needed to secure it afterwards, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/29 "2012-05-13T16:35:36Z")
I’ve always thought that, too, but I guess there is the odd chance that someone back at home base would remember their Bible verses and say ‘idiots, don’t open it - let’s put it inside a transport or something and do a little field test.’ ---
**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:** [May 13, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/30 "2012-05-13T17:25:28Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Realistically, the tablets were probably pounded to sand by being shaken around in that big metal box. Maybe over the course of centuries (Egypt is seismically active), maybe just during that truck ride. Nobody seems to be taking care to treat that incredibly priceless relic very carefully. There’s that part about the army which carries the Ark before it, and Indy shows the picture. Who knows how many times they did that. The Ark had been jostled around for maybe hundreds of years. The tablets could have been pounded to sand long before the Ark was even put in the Well of Souls. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/31 "2012-05-13T18:23:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Moses smashed the first set of tablets. After the isrealites repented, Moses went back up the mountain and came back with a new set. It was the second set that went in the ark. I stand corrected. You are absolutely right, Sir. Tripler I, in fact, did not go to Sunday School. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/32 "2012-05-13T18:53:53Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Realistically, the tablets were probably pounded to sand by being shaken around in that big metal box. Maybe over the course of centuries (Egypt is seismically active), maybe just during that truck ride. Nobody seems to be taking care to treat that incredibly priceless relic very carefully. “I’m making this up as I go along!” > [@Miller](#): > > Moses smashed the first set of tablets. After the isrealites repented, Moses went back up the mountain and came back with a new set. It was the second set that went in the ark. Well, that’s his story. However, that is a lot of carving to prepare new tablets for a bunch of ingrates who were probably illiterate anyway. He probably just filled up a bag with sand, brought it back down, and dumped it in the Ark, and then cracked anyone over the head who attempted to look in it. Over the years the story was embellished until it became “God will smite all who look inside the Ark.” Then, God caught wind of this and said to Himself, “Hmmm…that’s an interesting idea.” And the rest is history as portrayed in the documentary, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ (some reinactments performed for scenes not captured by original footage). > [@silenus](#): > > Which is an ok idea when you are dealing with infantry, but I don’t think it would be very effective against aerial bombs or artillery. To be fair, many of the supposed superweapons, such as the A4/V-2 rocket, were of limited effectiveness that was not commiserate with their cost or effort to develop and use. The Army Intelligence guy at the beginning of the film does say that, “Hitler’s nuts on the subject [the occult]”. > [@Revtim](#): > > This is one of those movies where the protagonist’s efforts were, in the end, completely irrelevant, right? Indy could have stayed at home and finished teaching his class, and the Nazis would have just burned themselves up in their test ceremony anyway. You could argue that maybe he was needed to secure it afterwards, I suppose. Yes, exactly. In fact, Indy led the Belloq and Toht directly to the Ark; without following him to Marion Ravenwood’s bar, and then later opening up the Well of Souls _in the middle of a giant German Army dig_ (which was curiously in the middle of de facto British-controlled Egypt) they would have likely never found the Ark at all. Now, let’s talk about _Goldfinger_… Stranger ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/33 "2012-05-13T19:01:07Z")
Indy’s job was to save the ark and the girl. She would have probably died were he not there to warn her to look away. Mission accomplished! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/34 "2012-05-13T19:12:58Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Yes, exactly. In fact, Indy led the Belloq and Toht directly to the Ark; without following him to Marion Ravenwood’s bar, and then later opening up the Well of Souls _in the middle of a giant German Army dig_ (which was curiously in the middle of de facto British-controlled Egypt) they would have likely never found the Ark at all. I seriously doubt they would _never_ have found the Ark. They were already digging in the right place, and the possessed an accurate map of what the city looked like before it was buried by the sandstorm. They’d have found it eventually - the dig site was within sight of the chief architect’s tent, after all. If anything, Indy’s actions slowed them down: by letting Toht get away with only half of the inscription on the amulet, he got the Nazis to focus their attention in the wrong part of the ruins. As for letting the Ark get to Germany, it might have killed Hitler, but Hitler wasn’t the only racist warmonger in the German government. He’d already built his fascist war machine and established his cult of personality, taking him out of the picture at the end of the '30s probably wouldn’t prevent WWII. It might, however, keep the Nazis from doing something suicidal, like attacking Russia. Probably could have prevented the Holocaust, which is no small thing, but I still wouldn’t envy the life of a German Jew in those circumstances, particularly after “Beloved Fuhrer Killed by Jewish Sorcery” hits the headline. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/35 "2012-05-13T19:13:54Z")
I’ve heard rumors{cionfirmation needed] that the construction of the Ark was similar to that of a battery or a capacitor or some such, and touching it wthout protection could give you a nasty shock. Mythbusters, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/36 "2012-05-13T19:15:20Z")
My last post was in response to **Revtim**! That’s what I get for leaving windows open forever. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/37 "2012-05-13T19:27:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > I’ve heard rumors{cionfirmation needed] that the construction of the Ark was similar to that of a battery or a capacitor or some such, and touching it wthout protection could give you a nasty shock. > > Mythbusters, anyone? [They did that already.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIQU2K6KlsA) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/38 "2012-05-13T19:38:53Z")
I think I’ll have to watch that movie again. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/39 "2012-05-13T20:21:59Z")
Exodus, Chapter 33: > [@](#): > > 20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. The Ark contains the embodiment of God (imprisoned?). Anyone with the hubris to think he should be able to look in it would be killed. StG ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/40 "2012-05-13T20:29:45Z")
By averting their eyes and not looking at the Ark, Indy and Marian were demonstrating humility. Like in so many stories, what did the Nazis in was hubris, and since the heroes avoided the hubris, they avoided the gristly fate that went with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748.md?page=3)