They Already Got 80% Of The Way There

This is genuinely hilarious because it's pointing out something historians of science love to flex about: Henry Cavendish's 1774 experiment to measure Earth's density was basically measuring Earth's mass, which is like 80% of the work needed to calculate gravitational pull. The Schiehallion experiment (that Scottish mountain in the background) used the mountain's gravitational deflection on a plumb bob to estimate Earth's density—getting a value of 4,500 kg/m³ compared to today's 5,515 kg/m³. Not bad for 18th-century tech!

The wojak's shock is perfect because yeah, if you already know Earth's density and size, calculating its gravitational pull is literally just plugging numbers into Newton's law of universal gravitation. The hard part was already done! The table showing Hutton's 1778 solar system density calculations versus modern values really drives home how close they were with such primitive equipment. Saturn at 410 kg/m³ vs 687 kg/m³ today? That's honestly impressive for someone working with telescopes held together by hope and Georgian-era mathematics.