Maggie's Farm

The “ancient ship at ground zero” title threw me for a loop. At first glance I thought, “wow, they found the remains of an ancient Greek trireme or Roman galley, hard evidence of pre-Columbian/pre-Viking transatlantic seafaring.” Alas, something in my mind resisted the possibility. Then I thought, “ah, further proof of pre-Columbian Viking incursions, this time further south along the North American coastline.” I grew excited to think the Vikings could be added to the illustrious list of New York ancestors, but something deep within my brain tossed the idea aside. At this point, I must confess, I briefly entertained, and I emphasize briefly, the possibility of a Chinese Junk. Perhaps the Chinese found what the Europeans could not: A Northwest Passage, well, a Northeast Passage. That left me wondering what kinds of boats the Native Americans possessed and if the Aztecs and Incas ever made it this far north. In turn, I wondered what the difference was between a boat and a ship. Or, maybe, just maybe, the term “ground zero” referred to another site of destruction, perhaps that of an earthquake or explosion. So, at this point, as I began rummaging my mind for recent catastrophic events, it occurred to me that I should click the link. Conclusion: are people so out of touch with things historical that they use the term ancient to describe something within the past 300 years? And have I grown so weary of ridiculous and repetitive MSN and AOL articles that I am reluctant to just click on the ones with interesting titles? I’m glad someone else caught it.