Gee Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away

Occasionally I run across something that I know absolutely nothing about and wonder how I could never have read anything about it before now. I had such an occasion recently while on vacation. I was reading 'Conquerors of Time' by Trevor Fishlock and was surprised to learn about teredo navalis, a clam with a lengthy wormlike body which feasts on wood. Many sailors at the time called them 'termites of the sea'. These clams, which were first encountered in great numbers during visits to the warm water of the Caribbean by the early new world explorers, attached themselves to the wooden hulls of ships and bored massive honeycomb-like structures throughout the ship. (One of the things that I've picked up on by working for the Navy all these years is that ships float much better without holes in their hulls.) Many ships of this era were completely rendered useless within a three to four year period. To combat this problem the British Admiralty began experimenting with copper sheathing on the exterior of hulls in the 18th century. After considerable trial and error, this method proved successful in eliminating the damage done by the teredor navalis. To the Admiralty's great surprise this also reduced many of the problems with other parasites and marine growth on these hulls, which greatly increased the speed of their ships. Faster ships obviously created a stronger Navy and speedier commercial ships created a greater profit margin. I found this to be an interesting little piece of history that somehow just totally escaped me over the years...until now.

The first part of Fishlock's book recounts the early explorations across the high seas and the wretched conditions of the men who staked their lives on these pioneering crossings. Much of his descriptive language may be too vivid for the more faint-hearted readers, but his narrative describes in detail what an extraordinarily disgusting and deplorable experience travel by sea was during this golden age of sailing ships. I've always been one to desire truth in writing, no matter how gross and repulsive it may be, because I want to see that true picture of history as it is painted into my mind.

His writings encompass many facets of various technological developments which greatly decreased the time necessary for global communications and travel. Among these developments he wrote of canals, railroads, telegraph, stagecoaches and the Pony Express. It was advancements such as these and the indomitable will of the men who journeyed forth to conquer the problems of space and time that brought the world closer together. Fishlock does an amazing job of putting all of this into one enjoyable book. It has now become a nice reference book for me as I have made numerous notes on subjects and persons that I want to study in greater detail. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something new that I've never known anything about.

If you are looking for something to read while you are lounging at home, wrapped in your favorite afghan on this New Year's Eve (or Old Year's Night), I'd recommend picking up this book to conquer your time.

And while reading, you could snack on the teredo navalis. I've read where it is eaten as a delicacy in the Philippines. It is prepared raw (cleaned with vinegar or lime juice) and served with chopped chili peppers and onions. Yummy! They say that the taste of the flesh has been compared to a wide variety of foods, from milk to oysters (for some reason I thought they would taste like wood). I'll check and see where I can pick up a few just to nibble on as I joyously bring in another New Year.

Have a safe and Happy New Year.