The Shining Eyes of Mount Rushmore

If you’ve ever looked into the eyes of the four presidents of Mount Rushmore, you may have noticed something striking. Rather than the smooth, flat gaze of classical Greek sculpture, they are cut deep into the granite as square recesses, causing light to hit the edges and reflect in a way that makes them appear almost shiny from a distance. However, carving them was anything but safe. Workers were suspended on cables, chiseling directly into the cliff face, knowing that a single fracture could send tons of rock breaking loose at any moment. Unlike ancient sculpture, this wasn’t about perfect form on a tabletop scale - it’s engineering at the edge of a mountain.