If I were to tell you that there is a ship from the 1790s that is still afloat and serving, I bet you wouldn’t believe me. However, it is true. The USS Constitution has been with the US Navy for over 200 years; she laid down in 1794 and launched in 1797. While she might not have fought in the Revolutionary War, she still played an important part in US history. She won many battles against British ships such as HMS Guerriere, HMS Java, HMS Pictou, HMS Cyane, and HMS Levant. The dedication and patriotism of Americans has saved her multiple times from the scrapyard and thus she is here today. Annually, she sails under her own power and regularly gives cannon salutes while doing so. When she is not sailing, she is anchored in Boston, Massachusetts.
I visited USS Constitution while on spring break which was a nice break from the drudgery of college tours. The museum was excellent and full of many interactive exhibits related to the ship. My favorite one was a demonstration of why she was called Old Ironsides despite not having an iron hull. It consisted of three samples of wood: pine, oak, and live oak with an acrylic tube containing a steel ball bearing. A bar containing magnets allowed visitors to raise and drop the ball bearings. As clearly demonstrated, the live oak allowed the ball bearing to bounce higher than on the other surfaces. This is because live oak is much denser than the other woods and thus it is less likely to waste kinetic energy by deforming. This was demonstrated when the British found that their shots often bounced off the ship which led to an American sailor to supposedly proclaim “Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!” thus leading to her acquiring the nickname of Old Ironsides.
Anyway, that’s enough AP Physics. I then decided to explore the actual ship and was quite impressed. It was like I had traveled back in time and I even got to see the captain’s quarters. I would not recommend using the toilets though, it’s just a simple board with a hole over the side of the ship. If there’s one piece of advice you must heed, it is this: always make sure to descend and ascend stairs with your feet and face pointing towards the steps, otherwise you’ll come crashing down and end up like one unfortunate tourist I saw. All in all, I would highly recommend visiting the USS Constitution.
