Interesting Nautical Fact of the Day...
"Don White" wrote in message
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"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
ps.com...
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British
Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull
plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.
Copper plating?
That would kinds dull their fangs, I'd imagine...
Mariners long ago discovered that one of the natural properties of
copper was it's ability to kill off bacteria preventing it from growing
on it's surface. Copper plating was used, later replaced by
anti-fouling paint with very high copper content (until it was banned).
Makes me wonder about any potential health hazards due to the increasing
practice of replacing copper pipes with PVC in the water supply side of
new homes.
One word - cheaper.
2nd word - easier.
easier == cheaper.
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