Oh, The Irony!

Today is also another significant anniversary, this one involving not the intersection between religion and contemporary (textual) scholarship but the intersection between (then) science-fiction and contemporary history.

  • The Nautilus is the name of the fictional submarine in Jules Verne’s 1870 science-fiction novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
  • The Nautilus is the name of a real-life, nuclear-powered American submarine (USS Nautilus, SSN-571).

A league is 3 miles, so 20,000 leagues is 60,000 miles.

Now for the irony:

On 4 February 1957, Nautilus logged her 60,000th nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

LEARN MORE.

READ THE NOVEL.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

6 thoughts on “Oh, The Irony!”

  2. Wasn’t that the plan for the USS Nautilaus? You think the Admiral didn’t know Verne’s novel by heart?

  3. I’m not always fond of the results of the “Disney-fication” of classic stories, but for a boy (already fascinated by the sea) growing up in the sixties there was NOTHING cooler than Disney’s screen version of the Nautilus. James Mason was also suitably creepy as the ego-heavy Captain Nemo. A rousing adventure flick all around.
    The USS Nautilus was of interest to me later not so much because of it’s name, but because it was the FIRST nulear-powered sub and so carried the kind of romance associated with pioneering. Nuclear technology was by no means a slam-dunk at the time.

  4. Years ago I read the book NAUTILUS 90 NORTH, BY COMMANDER WILLIAM R. ANDERSON AND CLAY BLAIR.
    It was quite a good read. I would highly recomend it.
    It is the commanders account of the period between the commisioning and the return from the north pole.
    For example: They developed a water system leak that they couldn’t find or couldn’t get to. Things were secret so they sent a bunch of crew to shore in civis to purchase Stop Leak! from auto shops.

  5. “Got any StopLeak!?”
    “Yep. How much ya need, stranger?”
    “’bout twelve cases. This WILL work with whatcha call yer HEAVY water, right?”

  6. Well this is interesting timing, since I just watched Disney’s version of 20,000 Leagues last night (Netflix rental). I liked it well enough to perhaps add it to my personal collection in the near future. Not till after Lent, though. 😉

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