Fiasco on the Paw Paw

One crisp fall day in 1951 two brothers went drifting down the Paw Paw River hunting ducks. The younger brother was in the stern of the canoe using a paddle to steer while the older brother sat in the bow, shotgun at the ready. Suddenly a duck flew up! The bowman followed the duck's flight until his 12 gauge was pointing 90 degrees to the long axis of the canoe at which time he fired (missing the duck). In accordance with Newton's Third Law, the canoe promptly tilted the other way, dumping the unprepared sternsman, his paddle and his 16 gauge double-barreled shotgun into the river. To the older brother's amazement, the younger brother demonstrated that it is possible to swim to shore even while weighed down with hip boots full of frigid water. The younger brother and the paddle were recovered; but, alas, the 16 gauge remained forever at the bottom of the river. (original email date May 8, 2008)