And now it's time for Who Smarted?
Psst.
Ahoy, smarty pants.
I mean, hey, smarty pants.
Trusty narrator here.
You're not going to believe where I am right now.
It's something that's fascinated me ever since I was just a young narrator about your age.
And it's something I've always wanted to do.
Listen closely to the sounds.
It might give you a helpful hint as to my mysterious whereabouts.
All righty, bub.
Lower it down another 50 feet or so.
We haven't reached the bottom yet.
I bet most of you have guessed I'm on a boat.
Well, guess what?
You're right.
But it's not just any boat.
It's what's known as a salvage vessel.
A salvage vessel is a large boat with all kinds of special equipment on board.
Things like a crane sonar, holding tanks and other cool stuff that's all used in service of one specific purpose.
Smarty Pants, any guesses what that purpose is?
Is it A, to catch a really big fish?
B, to collect trash floating in the ocean?
Or C, to search for and explore the remains of a shipwreck from years ago?
If you said C, to search for shipwrecks, you're right!
Hey, trusty, I was wondering where you'd run off to.
Oh, sorry about that, Bryce.
I just wanted to tell all the smarty pants how excited I am to be on a salvage boat searching for shipwrecks.
Ah, yes, we all know.
You've told us 17 times already.
My friend Bryce is what's known as a maritime archaeologist.
He focuses on both wet and dry sites where shipwrecks may have occurred.
He's also kind of snarky, which I guess makes him a snarkologist too.
That's okay.
I'm just glad he invited me to come along with him on this adventure.
It's my pleasure, trustee.
I love sharing these experiences with people who are interested in learning about shipwrecks.
What about you, smarty pants?
Are you interested in learning more about shipwrecks?
Things like, why do shipwrecks happen?
Where do most shipwrecks occur?
That is... would be in the water.
See?
Told you he was snarky.
As I was saying, what kinds of things can you recover from shipwrecks?
And how do you find a shipwreck in the first place?
Join me on an adventure with a whiff of science, history, and seawater on... Who Smarted?
Who Smarted?
Who's smart?
Is it you?
Is it me?
Is it science?
Or history?
Listen up, everyone!
We make smarting lots of fun on Who's Smarted!
Okay, Bryce.
I just noticed one of the deckhands lowering a heavy cable with a huge hook on the end down into the water.
What exactly are they doing?
Good question, trustee.
Maybe your Smarty Pants friends want to take a guess.
Sure.
Go ahead, Smarty Pants.
Shout out what you think is going on here.
I heard someone say to lift up really heavy stuff.
That's an excellent guess.
Indeed it is.
Even better, it's quite accurate.
Here, check out the underwater view screen.
What do you see?
It's pretty cloudy down there.
I see something kind of square-shaped, covered in barnacles?
No, it's not that.
It sort of looks like a big trap door with a large handle on top.
Bingo.
I see.
So they're trying to position that large hook so that it can lift open the door.
Yep.
Ooh, could there be something valuable inside?
Like perhaps sunken treasure?
Well, maybe not the way you're thinking of it.
But we hope there's something of value down there.
Me too, me too.
But wait, how did you know where this particular wreck went down and what it was carrying?
Well, trusty.
To find out this information, we had to do lots of research.
But the more we dug into it, the more intrigued we became.
And by we, I meant my crew and I. Oh, yeah.
This could be the big one.
Now I'm intrigued.
So what did you learn?
Well...
Do you remember the names of the three ships the famous Italian explorer Christopher Columbus used in 1492 when he set out from Spain to cross the Atlantic Ocean in search of India and China?
I do, but let's see if the smarty pants know.
True or false, smarty pants.
The names of those three ships were the Titanic, the Queen Mary and the SS Minnow.
If you said false, you're right.
Go ahead.
Shout out the names of Columbus's ships.
I heard you, Smarties.
They are, of course, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
Very nice.
But I bet you didn't know what happened to each of them.
Uh, you're right.
I don't.
But something tells me I'm about to.
Legend has it...
The Santa Maria, which was primarily a cargo ship, was the slowest of the three vessels.
Fortunately, it performed well during the crossing of the Atlantic.
That is until on all days.
Christmas Eve, Columbus decided to hand over the steering duties to a trusted crewman in order to get some well-needed sleep.
Uh-oh.
I have a feeling something bad happened.
Oh, yeah.
With the seas being calm that evening, that skilled crewman decided to catch some Zs themself and pass the wheel to a lonely cabin boy.
Oh, boy.
The ocean currents carried the ship way off course, stranding her on a beach in a place once called Hispaniola that's now part of Haiti.
Wait.
So you think the shipwreck below us right now is the famous Santa Maria that Columbus sailed on?
Yep.
Or at least part of it.
What do you mean, part of it?
Well, when Christopher Columbus and his men were unable to dislodge the Santa Maria, they decided to strip down much of the boat's still functioning parts to use elsewhere.
Supposedly, most of the timber was used to build a fort on the island.
So, unfortunately, we're not talking a fully intact sunken vessel here.
Far from it.
Gotcha.
Anything remaining would be spread out in all directions by now, assuming it hadn't already decayed.
After all, it's been over 500 years since she ran aground.
Right, but wouldn't other teams have already salvaged everything from that wreck?
One would think.
That's why we never really know until we've gotten up close and begin the salvaging process.
I see.
So what are the most common reasons why ships sink in the first place?
Smartypants, what do you think are the most common reasons ships sink?
Go ahead, shout out your answers.
I heard pirates overtaking the ship.
Poor maintenance or faulty equipment.
Oh, and some of you said human error.
Like giving the wheel to a lowly cabin boy.
Uh-oh.
Whoops.
All good answers.
And yes, many shipwrecks are caused by those.
But the most common reason for a shipwreck is flooding from grounding or collision.
Look out!
Iceberg!
Straight ahead!
I take it shipwrecks have been happening since the invention of boats?
For sure.
I was just doing research on a vessel that was recovered in 1975 near the Greek island of Dokos.
That dates back to around 2200 BCE.
Whoa.
And logically, I assume, the deeper the water, the more difficult it is to recover the contents of the ship.
Right again.
I believe the deepest recovery up to this point has been the USS Samuel B Roberts, also known as the Sammy B.
She was a naval destroyer that went down in battle in the Philippine Sea nearly 23000 feet or seven kilometers below the surface.
When I think of shipwrecks, I typically imagine they happen out on the open sea or near tropical islands, but I take it that's not always the case.
Nope.
Believe it or not, some 2000 wrecks have occurred on Lake Erie alone, with only 400 or so actually salvaged.
Is that because it's such a vital transportation route for so many years?
That's right.
Schooners freighters steamships, you name it.
They were all used to transport something from Point A.
I bet.
And more ships means the probability of more shipwrecks.
The waters along the coast of North Carolina have the distinction of being known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Due to the unusually large number of ships lost there.
They attribute it to the constantly shifting sands that cause the vessels to run aground.
That's not good for them.
For me, it doesn't stick.
Where else do ships go down a lot?
Bermuda is pretty much considered the shipwreck capital of the world, with over 300 wrecks known to have occurred in the waters off of that beautiful island.
That's a lot of wrecks for one small area.
Yep.
And the cause is something scientists are still trying to figure out.
Not me.
I'm just trying to find them and see what I can find on them.
So tell me, what are some of the most valuable sunken treasures ever discovered on a wrecked ship?
I knew you were going to ask that.
The answer is... Coming up right after this quick break.
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Now back to Who Smarted?
So what are some of the most valuable shipwrecks ever discovered?
In terms of value, some of the largest hauls of recovered treasure have reached into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
And yes, they often consist of gold and silver coins.
Amazing.
Hey, do you still have your teleportation app handy?
Of course.
I never narrate without it.
Great.
Set it to St.
Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
Sure thing.
Here we go.
Check it out.
We're at one of the coolest places for kids and adults called the Pirate Treasure Museum.
It's a shipwreck museum featuring the finds from deep ocean discoveries conducted by the Odyssey Marine Exploration.
Interesting.
I'm seeing lots of different coins, bottles, and exotic jewelry.
Oh, they even have an awesome wooden replica of a pirate from back in the day.
That's Captain Thomas, too.
And much of what you see right here is the bounty, stowed safely aboard his famous pirate ship known as the Amity.
I see.
And what happened to the Amity?
It took one too many cannonballs during a battle along the Mandab Strait.
A lot of valuables were recovered.
Of course they all belong to other people.
Pirates are really just robbers and thieves on the high seas.
Gotcha.
People tend to romanticize pirates, but a lot of what they did was not cool.
But being able to find, explore, and salvage or recover the items from shipwrecks is very cool.
It's a living.
Hey, I've got a few questions for you and the Smarty Pants.
How many shipwrecks are believed to be on the ocean floor right now?
Oh, that's an interesting question.
Smartypants, what do you think?
Is it 520?
4,300?
168,000?
Or 3 million shipwrecks on the ocean floor?
Well...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has mapped out 4,300 shipwrecks.
But there are many, many more to be found.
By some estimates, there are as many as 3 million shipwrecks currently on the ocean floor.
Wow, that should keep you pretty busy, Bryce.
Oh, yeah.
Here's the crazy part, smarty pants.
There's about 100,000 ships sailing on the ocean right now.
This vessel being one of them.
Which means there are 30 times as many ships under the sea as above it.
That's a lot of accidents, pirates, naval battles, bad weather, and other nautical nonsense.
Yep.
But in the salvage business, one ship's pain is another ship's gain.
Jackpot!
Um, does that get split up among, you know, everyone on board?
No.
Looks like someone just sunk our friendship.
A super shout out to a pair of Smarty fans, Scarlett and Maverick Wong in Calgary, Alberta.
I hear you listen every night before bed and that you love learning along with me, the trusty narrator.
Aw, we love that you're part of our Smarty family.
Thanks.
This episode Shipwrecks was written by Dave down with the ship Davis and voiced by Sheffield SOS Chastain Max Crash Kamaski, Adam Rex Davis and Jerry Kolber.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh iceberg ahead.
Han Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Salvaged Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex-Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Kolber.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
