My Dear Dear Friends, I have followed this lightning and paddle thread and am mildly surprised that such erudite people as the Paddlewsie contributors have not picked up on this, the true reason why the Inuit developed the Greenland paddle. It is well known that bone is a poor conductor of electricity and that is why the Inuit paddle maker tipped his paddle with bone. Some labor under the impression that the bone tips were to protect the paddle from rock damage but which would you be more concerned about - being fried by lightning or a rough paddle tip. Indeed, a rough tip could have been an advantage in producing more sensation in the Inuit game of "slap and tickle". What makes the discovery of the non conducting paddle more significant is Lightning is a rare thing in the Arctic. Thus the Inuit deduced its existence and took preventative measures just in case there was a climatic change and thunderstorms moved north. Of course, being very cautious people they also developed the low Greenland stroke that keeps the paddle tip low and away from lightning strikes. I myself have witnessed how people paddling with the Greenland stroke rarely get struck by lightning unless paddling on a golf course with their Nibblick elevated in a sign of elation for holing a seal in one. Many have maligned the Inuit saying they had no science but surely this proves the opposite. It is a superb example of pure science that the Inuit theorised the existence of lightning and even developed a method of dealing with it. In this they anticipated the modern sea kayaker's concern for safety and obsession with being prepared for every eventuality. What matters is that the Inuit anticipated Benjamin Franklin by centuries. Dr. Peregrine Inverbon, Ph.d., DD, LL.d, Ph.G Transcribed by his humble servant John Winters *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed May 06 1998 - 06:02:53 PDT
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