Difference between revisions of "Proving Longitude Wrong"

Revision as of 11:32, 29 April 2007

Proving Longitude Wrong is the sixty-first video in the lonelygirl15 video series. Proving Longitude Wrong is the sixty-first video in the Lonelygirl15 video series and the fifth video in the Proving Science Wrong series.

Transcript

(Bree is sitting at her desk wearing her explorer hat and Daniel is on the bed reading Time Magazine)

Bree: Hello, and welcome to another exciting installment of "Proving Science Wrong." Daniel's here, and we're having a bit of fun. (Bree nods) Today we have a troubling question put before us: Do you know your longitude?

(Scene cut: Bree and Daniel are sitting on the floor next to two clocks. Daniel plays with a globe and points to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England.)

Bree: Your longitude is the lateral distance from the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees. (sighs) I know, I didn't think it was that important either. Until I read this: (Bree holds up a paperback edition of "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time," by Dava Sobel<ref>This book is available at Amazon.com; the story is on pages 11-13.</ref>) (Bree reads in a funny proper British voice) 'Twas a foggy day on October 22, 1707. Sir Admiral Cloudesley...--well anyway. He was guiding five boats carrying 2,000 soldiers back to England, when he got lost.

(Scene cut: Bree walks about the room as though, pretending to be blind. She chases Daniel off the bed)

Bree: Cloudesley was approached shortly before nightfall by one of the first mates. He'd been keeping an astronomical journal thingy of where the boat had been traveling. They were hopelessly off course. It was illegal for anyone other than the ship's navigator to keep logs on the ship's position. So Cloudesley had the man hanged. And what do you know, three hours later the fleet runs smack into a row of rocky islands.

(Scene cut: Bree nods to music)

(Scene cut: Bree and Daniel are back on the floor with the clocks and globe. Daniel grabs the Time magazine off the bed and continues reading)

(Scene cut: Bree nods some more to the music)

Bree: Cloudesley was one of the two survivors of the wreck. But when he washed up on shore, a local peasant woman was walking by and she took a liking to his shiny emerald ring--and murdered him for it. True story. (Bree holds up book again) All in this book. So, why is it important to know your longitude? Because if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going. And you might run into things that aren't supposed to be there... (looks back at Daniel playing with P. Monkey on the bed) ...like Danielbeasts.

Notes

• Bree does not actually prove longitude wrong.
• The clock that appears twice in this video displays the time 7:10, but the lighting in the room seems to indicate the filming took place in the afternoon rather than early in the morning or late at night. In fact, 7:10 a.m. on the date of this video was the time of sunrise in Southern California, and sunset was at about 6 p.m. Since the time of sunrise and sunset is largely determined by longitude, the subject of this video, this may be a clue to something. Or the Creators could have just screwed up - not bothered to set the clock correctly, or maybe lit the room in a way that accidentally indicated that it was afternoon.
• "Sir Admiral Cloudesley - " is Cloudesly Shovell. His peculiar first name was derived from the last name of his maternal grandmother Lucy Cloudisley.<ref name=Cloud>Wikipedia article on Cloudesley Shovel</ref> Lucy is also the name of Bree's Helper. However, it is doubtful that such a tiny detail could be of any signifigance.
• The story Bree tells about Cloudesly Shovell is simply a myth, according to which the wreck was a punishment for the unjust hanging of the first mate. There is no evidence to support this claim.<ref name=Cloud/>

References

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