all 6 comments

[–]magnora7[S] 6 insightful - 3 fun6 insightful - 2 fun7 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

This is nuts. No sail, no engine. Just the currents. Incredibly impressive.

[–]JasonCarswell 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It's pretty neat.

What was even neater, IMO, was how, long before satellites and computers, they used to drop notes in bottles with the date, location, etc. and they would also collect and log them - and by accumulating all the global data over centuries they developed maps of the ocean currents, trade winds, etc.

[–]beermeem 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

That's not exactly "just a barrel."

[–]magnora7[S] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

From a navigation/control standpoint, it basically is

[–]Vigte 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Next time someone says "stone age people couldn't sail to north america" - I'm telling them about this and forcing them to admit plausibility. Checkmate.