Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-26
WHIRLPOOL THROWS
SHIP OFF COURSE
Outward Spinning Oddly Re-
ported by Geodetic YES
sci photographer.

Discovery .of an outward spinning
whirlpool in the Atlantic Ocean is re-
ported by a vessel Of the Coast and
Geodetic Survey. While charting the
Georges Banks $50 miles East Of Cape
Cod. the survey vessel photographer
which was strong enough to throw the
vessel of is course The cause Of tl :.
phenomenon Is unknown, but furthef
investigation will be made 1t differs
from other whirlpools known to navi-
gators in that it spins outward instead
of toward its center.
An outward spinning whirlpool is
another oddly added to the long list OF
unexplained mysteries Of the sea-" says
bulletin from the headquarters of the
National Geographic Society. 1T is
half in jest and half in awe that old
tars refer to the bounding main as
that old devil sea- In olden days the
sea was believed to be peopled with
strange monsters which deVoured both
ships and men. Even today, with all
the safeguards and comforts of modern
travel, ship voyage is not without its
hazards. Mother ocean constantly plays
new and unexpected tricks. because
mans knowledge of the sea, for all his
centuries of study and experience. is
extremely meager.
Explorers and geographers who have
been signing for new lands to conquer
may find their best field, paradoxically,
In the sea. When it is realized tYfat
nearly three-quarters of the surface of
the globe consists of water. it is rather
remarkable how little we know of the
vast surface OF the solid sphere which
lies beneath this screen Ct liquid.
Ocean Bed Uncharted.
"The greater portions of our con-
tinents are mapped. even to the sma,l-
est details. and our harbors and the
shallow waters close offshore are fairly
well charted, but once the edges of The
continental shelf are passed the fea-
lures of the sea bottom. and what
strange phenomena may be found
there, are but vaguely represented by
a few contour lines laid down between
rather infrequent points of soundings.
Imagine men IN airships cruising
ever strange country, flying above
miles OF clouds, and once in q while
dropping a sounding line down TO earth
end now and again letting down a
Credge or q trawl. Under such condi-
tons they probably would learn little
about what was happening down below.
The most impressive thing about the
sea is its shallowness as compared with
the size OF the earLn, ana It's Ceptn IS
compared with the height of the land
II one were to take a globe six feet IN
diameter and excavate the deepest
trench of the ocean thereon. it would
be bare pin scratch deep-about one
twentieth of an inch.
Among the sea's unexplained mys-
teries are the origin and actions Of
storm waves commonest Of nautical
phenomena. Often storm waves travel
much faster than the storm itself
meaning the storm as whole-and
sometimes they break with great force
on a shore line where conditions other
wise are very uu.et and serene.
Currents a Mystery.
There is a curious superstition,
varying in various parts of the world,
that every seventh, or every ninth, or
every tenth wave is larger than the
ones that precede it, Writers often
take advantage Of this belief, not sup
ported by scientists, to illustrate def
mite periods or sequences In ideas or
lives.
Much is still to be learned about
the vagaries of ocean currents. YES