Mark Twain question

[Maggie Leung]

I've been rereading some Twain before I dig into his autobiography and am wondering:

What is the concept behind the people searching for Tom and Huck shooting off cannons in hopes of bringing up their bodies from underwater? How was that supposed to work?

[ProfCrash]

Guessing here but it could be that the shock waves from the cannonballs landing would force a body to the surface.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Guessing here but it could be that the shock waves from the cannonballs landing would force a body to the surface.

yes, explosions bring bodies, human and fish to the surface of water

[ProfCrash]

WOHOOOO and I never took Physics (winks)

OK, I am not really proud that I never took physics but the school district wouldn't let me take science and math my freshman year (Learning Disabilities make you stupid don't you know) so I had to catch up on science starting my sophmore year. Actually they tried to waive all math and science requirements for me throughout high school. My parents told them to go to hell. At the time, I was disappointed with my parents. (winks)

[Maggie Leung]

Thanks for the replies. It seemed like that was the idea. I was wondering whether I was missing something. Crude approach, but entertaining to read about.

[kindlekitten]

really ethically challenged people go fishing with a stick of dynamite ;o(

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

really ethically challenged people go fishing with a stick of dynamite ;o(

Yes, I've read about that with horror.

[BenBanned]

RPG Fishing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KVyykFS3dY

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

What is the concept behind the people searching for Tom and Huck shooting off cannons in hopes of bringing up their bodies from underwater? How was that supposed to work?

In Twain's time I'm pretty sure it was basically a common superstition.

But hey, maybe some people thought there was something scientific behind it.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't really work unless a body has filled with gases during decomposition and then the concussive blast of the cannon would actually dislodge a body in said state that had become hitched to the bottom of the river or whatnot. But this isn't overly likely.

If a body has filled with water I don't think it will usually float.

Then again, the body they are looking for in the book was thought to have been savagely killed. In that case Huck would not be able to inhale water remaining buoyant? Unless the wounds were gaping and literally led in to his trunks body cavity permitting the water to penetrate...

I'll quit now.

By the way, a passage near there is one of the most humorous in the book and has stuck in my memory 'evah sense I din red it!:

"Look sharp, now; the current sets in the closest here and maybe he's washed ashore and got tangled amongst the brush at the water's edge. I hope so, anyway."

"I didn't hope so. They all crowded up and leaned over the rails, nearly in my face, and kept still, watching with all their might. I could see them first-rate but they couldn't see me. Then the captain sung out, "Stand away!" and the cannon let off such a blast right before me that it made me deef with the noise and pretty near blind with the smoke, and I judged I was gone. If they'd 'a' had some bullets in, I reckon they'd 'a' got the corpse they was after."

(This text quoted from my Easton Press edition)

I laugh (copiously!) every time I read that bit.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Anthem

In Twain's time I'm pretty sure it was basically a common superstition.

But hey, maybe some people thought there was something scientific behind it.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't really work unless a body has filled with gases during decomposition and then the concussive blast of the cannon would actually dislodge a body in said state that had become hitched to the bottom of the river or whatnot. But this isn't overly likely.

If a body has filled with water I don't think it will usually float.

Then again, the body they are looking for in the book was thought to have been savagely killed. In that case Huck would not be able to inhale water remaining buoyant? Unless the wounds were gaping and literally led in to his trunks body cavity permitting the water to penetrate...

I'll quit now.

By the way, a passage near there is one of the most humorous in the book and has stuck in my memory 'evah sense I din red it!:

"Look sharp, now; the current sets in the closest here and maybe he's washed ashore and got tangled amongst the brush at the water's edge. I hope so, anyway."

"I didn't hope so. They all crowded up and leaned over the rails, nearly in my face, and kept still, watching with all their might. I could see them first-rate but they couldn't see me. Then the captain sung out, "Stand away!" and the cannon let off such a blast right before me that it made me deef with the noise and pretty near blind with the smoke, and I judged I was gone. If they'd 'a' had some bullets in, I reckon they'd 'a' got the corpse they was after."

(This text quoted from my Easton Press edition)

I laugh (copiously!) every time I read that bit.

Many laugh-aloud parts. Twain was a great storyteller.

They look for bodies in both the Tom and Huck adventures. In Huck, he was supposed to have been killed. In Tom, three boys were thought drowned.

I wondered about the cannonballs' usefulness. Seems like a long shot, but entertaining.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by Anthem

If a body has filled with water I don't think it will usually float.

Eventually it will, actually, unless weighted down or obstructed somehow. It takes about a week, though, for the body to fill up with gas.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Eventually it will, actually, unless weighted down or obstructed somehow. It takes about a week, though, for the body to fill up with gas.

it depends on the water temperature

[nohmi2]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

really ethically challenged people go fishing with a stick of dynamite ;o(

Wow!

How terribly sportsman-like of them.



Cheers

[boxcorner]

How differently do dead bodies decompose underwater?

Wikipedia: Human decomposition

[paola]

Originally Posted by boxcorner

How differently do dead bodies decompose underwater?

Wikipedia: Human decomposition

on these themes I heartily recommend
Stiff, by Mary Roach
and, more scientific,
Time of Death, by Jessica Snyder Sachs.
Enjoy