"So, we'll tie these ropes around our waists, and follow this blueprint to recreate it, then it's up to us to figure out how to get loose." — Phineas[src] |
The Gordian Knot replica is a recreation of the Gordian Knot conceived by Phineas and Ferb so that they can partake in an untying challenge with their friends.
History[]
Phineas and Ferb decide to tie a knot as their project for the day. To Buford's perplexity, they clarify that their idea is to reproduce the Gordian Knot, a legend recounted by him to the others so they can remember it. Once the story is done, Phineas presents the plan to his friends; tying themselves on ropes to subsequently follow a blueprint to recreate the knot, getting them purposefully stuck inside it, where they must then figure out how to untie it.
As a failsafe measure, the boys tell Candace to call their mom if they get fully entangled. The plan proceeds smoothly as the kids begin forming the Gordian Knot, finishing it a while later. Despite Buford's protests, he is pulled within alongside the others so the game can start. Everyone breaks into song while carving their path through the messy structure, expressing the silly absurdity of their stunt.
Eventually, Phineas declares that only a few moves are missing for them to succeed in the untying. Frustrated about an unopenable safe, Candace cries out for her siblings to help, resolving to get her mother regardless of their situation. All of a sudden, a ray hits Candace, increasing her appetite enough for her to devour the licorice fabric of the knot, impressing the kids, and confusing herself in the process ("Knot My Problem").
Design[]
The Gordian Knot replica is a spherical knot structure formed by red and black licorice ropes. Many different types of ties can be seen in it, including closed bends, loop splices, bowlines, lashings, square knots, sheepshanks, and hitches.
Mechanics[]
The Gordian Knot replica is a semi-untiable knot designed to have a high number of steps to completely undo it. Its constitution allows the players to hang from multiple sides, bounce at will, swing on ropes, and perform other spring-based movements.
Background Information[]
- When Phineas presents the plan to the group, Buford is bewildered due to a lack of an intro to it, alluding to the exposition there commonly is before a project is announced. In this case, this is provided shortly afterwards by Buford himself, who explains the myth.
- Buford mistakes the phrase "doing the knot" for "doing the not", prompting Phineas to correct him twice. This is a nod to both words' pronunciation being the same, as the "k" is omitted in the former.
- In Buford's narration of the story, he takes the role of Alexander the Great, who cut the Gordian Knot in one stroke. As explained by him, this action led to the idiom "cutting the Gordian Knot", used to describe a simple solution to a complex problem.
- The boys' plan has the goal of turning them into the second people to tie the legendary knot, and the first to properly untie it. Per the legend, Midas, the son of farmer Gordias, was the one to place it in a post.
- According to Phineas, the replica has two failsafes:
- Having Linda solve it for them, since she is skilled with knots.
- Eating the ropes, which are comprised of licorice.
- To put together the knot, the kids do a specified set of moves:
- Based on a line from the song, it can be inferred that the boys had obtained their blueprint from the internet.
- During the final stretch, Buford manages to wrap his body into a knot. In response, he proclaims that he is a victim of circumstance.
- Commenting on Candace's consumption of the Gordian Knot replica, Ferb states that her method is a solution not even Alexander the Great could have come up with, referring to the unorthodox genius of both answers.
- The Gordian Knot replica appears in one of the scenes of the montage recounting the summer ("Last Day of Summer").
Appearances[]
- "Knot My Problem" (First appearance)
- "Last Day of Summer" (Appears in flashback(s))
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