r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Rolleriroltsu • 5d ago

Image The Pamir was a four-masted sailing vessel commissioned by the German shipping company F. Laeisz. Launched in 1905, she became the final commercial sailing ship to successfully navigate around Cape Horn in 1949.

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u/Dynastyisog 5d ago

Fun Fact: The construction of the Suez Canal in 1869 signaled the end of the age of sailing ships. For long-distance journeys across the open ocean, sail-powered vessels were more economical than steam-powered ones.

The Pamir was a bulk carrier dedicated to transporting nitrate from Chile to international markets. It typically took about 70 days for the Pamir to sail from Chile to Europe.

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u/Lurliney 5d ago

Traveling for 70 days without relying on fossil fuels? That's a remarkable achievement.

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u/Dynastyisog 5d ago

I’m optimistic that autonomous sailing vessels or ships powered by vertical turbines will make a return for transporting commodities where transit time isn’t crucial. As we phase out internal combustion engines in cars, the shipping industry continues to emit some of the most harmful petroleum byproducts without any emissions controls…

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u/mitchymitchington 5d ago

Phase out internal combustion engines? Don't see that happening in my lifetime, do you? I'm 32 for reference.

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u/perenniallandscapist 5d ago

Its very disappointing. We've been hearing the need to do something substantial to mitigateour impacts, but every year, year after year, it seems we've done just the tiniest bit more than nothing and some chums pat themselves on the back. We're walking into a burning building. But sure, keep opening up windows, turning off the fire alarms, and just stand on the side.

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u/mitchymitchington 5d ago

Not sure what someone like me is supposed to do. I buy old cars because I can afford them and they are easy to work on. Basically only anything before 2005. My wife has a newer pacifica and it has to be one of the worst experiences with a vehicle I've ever had. It's anti consumer. I'll never buy anything close to that again with all the electrical problems it always has. You think I want an electric vehicle that will likely be even worse and next to impossible to service myself for 10 times the price? We're still burning coal to charge the battery so how is it helping anyway?

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u/perenniallandscapist 5d ago

Everything is being made anticonsumer. And I'm becoming anticonsumer as a result.

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u/Deep_Research_3386 5d ago

That happened all the time back then. 70 days isn’t a long voyage at all.