February 16, 2026
Paper beats rock, internet folds
14-year-old Miles Wu folded origami pattern that holds 10k times its own weight
Teen origami tank lifts 200 lbs; internet splits: talent vs time
TLDR: A 14-year-old folded a map-style origami pattern that held up to 200 pounds—10,000× its weight—and pitched it for quick disaster shelters. Commenters split between applauding years of practice over age hype, asking for other entries and real-world tests, and tossing wild ideas from Lego bridges to submarine hulls
A New York ninth-grader, Miles Wu, folded a classic Miura-ori pattern—think a map fold used for space solar panels—and shocked himself when his paper could hold 10,000 times its own weight, even up to 200 pounds. He’s dreaming big: pop‑up disaster shelters that can be collapsed, carried, and deployed fast. The internet’s first reaction? Awe. The second? Drama.
One camp is done with the “child prodigy” headlines. As one top comment put it, don’t worship the age—respect the grind: Wu has six years of folding behind him and logged roughly 250 hours and 108 trials for this project. Another camp wants receipts: where are “the other submissions”? One user linked a previous thread, while others begged for more data and real-world tests beyond living-room lab weights and guardrails.
Meanwhile, the side quests are peak internet. A commenter asked if this could armor submarines (science says: calm down, it’s paper… for now). Another dropped a nostalgia bomb with a Lego Masters bridge that held wild weight, fueling a meme wave: “Paper beats rock,” “Origami > leg day,” and our favorite, “Miura-OMG.” Between hype and skepticism, the vibe is clear: the fold is real, the idea is bold, and the crowd wants to see if this pop-up superfold can survive rain, wind—and the comments
Key Points
- •A 14-year-old student, Miles Wu, found Miura-ori paper structures could hold up to 10,000 times their own weight, with loads up to about 200 pounds.
- •Wu conducted over 250 hours of work, testing 54 design variants (108 trials) across three paper types using a scoring machine to reduce folding error.
- •Each 64-square-inch pattern was placed between 5-inch guardrails and loaded with weights until failure to assess strength-to-weight ratio.
- •The project aims at deployable, strong, and cost-efficient shelters for disaster relief, inspired by hurricanes and wildfires.
- •Miura-ori, invented by Koryo Miura, has aerospace heritage (e.g., Japan’s 1995 Space Flyer Unit), and new origami “bloom patterns” may enable future space applications.