Five thousand years ago, the Egyptians used reef knots to fasten their belts. In the first century, Greek physicians employed both reef knots and clove hitches to tie surgical nooses. Today, these ancient knots are coming in handy on Mars.

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According to knot aficionado David Fred, NASA engineers appear to have primarily employed the "spot tie" on the Curiosity rover — a combination of a clove hitch and a reef knot that works both to bind cables and affix cable bundles to tie-down poin...
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