There have often been discussions about the so called “right” and “wrong” ways to tie a figure-of-8 knot and they seem to focus on whether the strand being loaded is on the “inside” or “outside” of the knot as it takes its first major bend.  An interesting hypothesis is that perhaps, regardless of “right” or “wrong”, a knot that is difficult to untie may be an indication that a system has been overloaded.

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