b'
\\nIn 1764 a French engineer on a tiny African island claimed that he could see ships beyond the horizon. In today\'s show we\'ll review the strange story of \\xc9tienne Bottineau and consider the evidence for his claims to have invented a new art.
\\nWe\'ll also ponder a 400-year-old levitation trick and puzzle over why throwing a beer can at someone might merit a promotion.
\\nSources for our feature on nauscopie, the purported art of apprehending ships below the horizon:
\\nRupert T. Gould, Oddities: A Book of Unexplained Facts, 1928.
\\nSir David Brewster, Letters on Natural Magic, 1832.
\\nJ. Gregory Dill, "The Lost Art of Nauscopie,"\\xa0Ocean Navigator, January/February 2003 (retrieved May 17, 2015).
\\nMike Dash, "Naval Gazing: The Enigma of \\xc9tienne Bottineau,"\\xa0Smithsonian Magazine, Oct. 13, 2011 (retrieved May 17, 2015).
\\nChicago Tribune, "The Science of Nauscopie,"\\xa0Nov. 7, 1869.
\\nGreg\'s post on Samuel Pepy\'s "lifting experiment" appeared on Futility Closet on March 22, 2008. Further sources for that segment:
\\nSir David Brewster, Letters on Natural Magic, 1832.
\\nThe Diary of Samuel Pepys, July 31, 1665.
\\nRobert Conger Pell, Milledulcia: A Thousand Pleasant Things Selected from "Notes and Queries,"\\xa01857.
\\nNotes & Queries, July 3, 1852 (the original query).
\\nNotes & Queries, July 24, 1852 (Brewster offers his impressions).
\\n"Non-Wist," "Phenomenon of Levity in the Human Subject,"\\xa0The Zoist, January 1852.
\\nTwo YouTube videos illustrate\\xa0the modern technique: one,\\xa0two
\\nThe YouTube discussion mentioned in this week\'s lateral thinking puzzle is here\\xa0(warning -- this spoils the puzzle).
\\nYou can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes\\xa0or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset.
\\nPlease consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page\\xa0you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we\'ve set up some rewards to help thank you for your support.
\\nYou can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website.
\\nMany thanks to Doug Ross\\xa0for the music in this episode.
\\nIf you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. You can also follow us on Facebook\\xa0and Twitter. Thanks for listening!
'