Did you know that the USS Constitution was called Old Hempensides?
The namesake of the last remaining Constitution-class frigate was originally outfitted with cannabis hemp sails and over 60 tons of cannabis hemp rigging. Constitution's most recent restoration was planned with an eye on her 200th birthday. On July 21, 1997, Constitution sailed off of Marblehead, MA under her own power for the first time in 116 years.
marijuananews.com
"In 1824, domestic hemp was pitted against Russian hemp by rigging the USS Constitution on one side with American and the other with Russian grown hemp, 'and after being thus worn for nearly a year, it was found, on examination, that the Russian rope, in every instance, after being much worn, looked better and wore more equally and evenly than the American.' But the commander said, 'the difference between them was not so great as to warrant a declaration that the proof was conclusive in favor of the Russian....'"
Dodge, C. A. 1896. A report on the culture of hemp and jute in the United States. USDA Office of Fiber Investigations. Report No. 8. p.15.
mojo.calyx.net
Hemp is the longest and strongest plant fiber. It is extremely abrasion and rot resistant and was the primary source of canvas, sail, rope, twine, and webbing fiber for hundreds of years before nylon was patented by DuPont in 1937. Hemp was used for clothing, military uniforms, ship's rigging, shoes, parachute webbing, baggage, and much more. Christopher Columbus' ships were fully rigged in hemp. The U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," was outfitted with over 40 tons of hemp rigging.
Because of the multitude of uses for hemp, the early Colonial American governments mandated its cultivation. Early American settlers even used hemp fiber as money and to pay taxes. Because of its length and strength, hemp fiber can be woven into natural advanced composites, which can then be fashioned into anything from fast food containers to skateboard decks to the body of a stealth fighter.
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