March 12th, 2017

A remotely operated submarine was christened 'Boaty McBoatface' today in place of the research vessel which carries it: the RRS Sir David Attenborough. It was the latter that was supposed to bear the former's name, after an online poll was launched allowing the public to choose. Many were frustrated at the research vessel being denied the Boaty McBoatface title, deemed unfitting for a 200 million £ endeavor. Others claimed that a submarine is not a boat. In fact, it is, and submarines were originally called 'submarine boats'. How do you define a boat, then? And how do they differ from ships? Generally speaking, size is the deciding factor: boats tend to be smaller, while ships tend to be larger. Though this doesn't hold for submarines, where even the largest are called boats. Historically, a watercraft was a ship (or 'full-rigged' ship) only if it had at least three square-rigged masts. Yet today, as most watercraft no longer use masts, the line has become murky, and size is used a rough guide. Some have proposed the rule of thumb "A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry of ship." This clears up the case of the submarine, but the oreboat provides a new counterexample.

Bonus:
A new exhibition in Warsaw will showcase works by artists from around the world, all of which will share the common theme of hitchhiking.

-E