Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 19:06:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Gene Thompson <gthompso@ccsf.cc.ca.us>
To: Pinhole Listserv <pinhole@exploratorium.edu>
Subject: Re: Science in Literature
In-Reply-To: <a2d3ce7b.34e0f68b@aol.com>
I know why for the cannons, but not the mercury. The cannons were to
dislodge a body that would otherwise float (due to the gases produced
during decomposition) but that was tangled up in roots or weeds. The
shock waves often were enough to jiggle things around so that the body
could break away and rise to the surface.
Ellen Koivisto
George Washington High School
San Francisco
On Tue, 10 Feb 1998, Pinhole Listserv wrote:
> As I teach HUCKLEBERRY FINN to my eighth graders each year, I wonder about
> the reason for floating a quicksilver-filled loaf of bread down the
> Mississippi to find a body. This year they want to know WHY, really. I have
> passed it off before as simply a means of approximating the drift of the body
> on the river - when the loaf sinks - voila! -the body is discovered. I have
> since confessed to not knowing the reason at all. How might they have used
> mercury then, and was there any real scientific reason for such a ploy? They
> also shot cannons over the water for the same purpose of finding the body.
> Thanks to anyone who answers. Pat Tucker
>
>