Mega-strength "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl"

Hey everyone. For this entry, I'm going to dip into one of my favorite genres of film: historical fiction. Although it's not exactly historically accurate (hence the word 'fiction,' I suppose), the first film isn't that far-fetched...minus the cursed pirates that turn into skeletons in the moonlight. That's right, I'm talking about Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

The Movie
In a nutshell, the movie is about William Turner (Orlando Bloom), forced to enlist the help of the infamous-and-unpredictable pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to save his love, Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) from evil, dreaded pirates, captained by Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). It's a race to the finish to save her before she is sacrificed to lift the Aztec curse plaguing Barbossa and his men, but there is still plenty of time for Depp's memorably hilarious character to show off his charm and wit...as well as get a little tipsy off some rum.

This is one of my favorite movies. It's got action, comedy, a bit of horror, and a lot of pretty scenery, including some beautiful tall ships. Also, this movie was instrumental in reviving Johnny Depp's career in the 21st century, reintroducing him to a new generation as A-list star.

What Doesn't Make Sense
Jack Sparrow is characterized as being resourceful and extremely witty, able to escape seemingly impossible circumstances with absolutely no effort. It's all part of the comedic element of the entire movie. In this scene, Sparrow comes up with a rather ingenious way to steal a boat from the British Navy: sneak up right under their noses...and under the water.

For those of you who remember Bill Nye's lesson on Buoyancy, you will know that this feat of holding a boat under water is quite difficult. In fact, it's nearly impossible. Trust me, I've tried. With a  canoe and 4 other girls at summer camp, we attempted to sink the boat without losing the air pocket. Even with 5 of us pulling (and even trying to push it under the surface), we were unable to get the boat the stay under the water.

The phenomena is called upthrust. It's what makes things that float, well, float. Oxygen is lighter than water, and therefore the air trapped under the boat (as well as the fact that the boat is made of wood, which also floats) would be too much for two men to hold under that much water. In fact, they would need to weigh several tons in order to hold a boat that size that far underwater, according to the laws of physics.

So, in reality, Jack Sparrow wouldn't have been nearly as successful at sneaking up on the British Navy. The boat would keep bobbing up to the surface, and they would never be able to hide underwater for long. Needless to say, Elizabeth would be pretty screwed.

Until next time.