"The storm blowing from the north will send the reverberations of weapons to our ears. Our brethren have gone to war! Why are we standing here and watching? What do the gentlemen want to do? What will they get? Is life so precious, so sweet that it is worth the price of shackles and slavery? Almighty God, stop them from doing so! I don't know how others will behave; As for me, I'd rather die than be free! ”

This is a passage from the most famous speech of Patrick Henry, the Founding Father of the United States, "Freedom or Death" more than 160 years ago. This well-known speech holds a special place in American history. It not only refuted the fallacies of the Lords and Peacers at that time with hard facts, inspired millions of North Americans to fight for freedom and independence, but also earned Patrick Henry the reputation of "the tongue of the American Revolution".

Today, Roosevelt quoted portions of this famous article again in his speech, saying that the freighter, named after Patrick Henry, would bring freedom and peace to Europe along with his sister ship. The term "Freedom Wheel" also appeared in front of the public and the media for the first time.

I have to admit that Roosevelt's speech still took a lot of thought. In the name of Patrick Henry, holding high the banner of "Freedom or Death" is indeed quite rhythmic. As soon as the concept of such a burning "free wheel" came out, all kinds of negative rumors about this kind of big ship would naturally be swept away.

John now understands why the Declaration of Independence had 56 signatories, and the first "Liberty Ship" was called the Patrick Henry.

It's Richmond, the capital of Virginia. Who is Patrick Henry? He was the Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, the commander-in-chief of the Virginia Army during the Revolutionary War, the first governor of Virginia, and the great man who led the Virginians to drive out the British colonists and gain freedom.

If Patrick Henry's image can give the "Liberty Wheel" a buff of "Opinion +50", at the launch ceremony where a large number of Richmond local "melon eaters" gathered, this bonus can skyrocket by at least another 30.

It can be seen from the enthusiastic cheers and applause of the audience that Roosevelt's speech has successfully brought the first wave of rhythm up. Next, as long as the media cooperates well, I believe that a large number of taxpayers will be willing to generously contribute to the next step of the shipbuilding plan and buy special federal bonds.

After Roosevelt's speech, the next step was the bottle throwing ceremony. This traditional ritual was initially popular only in Christian countries, but has since become a common practice in most countries around the world.

In the early years, the launching ceremony of Chinese ships was not to throw wine bottles, but to cut cables. It is usually the shipyard worker or the ship's owner's unit who uses an axe to cut the ship's cable to the dock. However, later, the bottle throwing ceremony was gradually accepted by the Chinese as a "Western fashion". Sometimes, even the military celebrates with a bottle of champagne when it holds a launching ceremony for a new warship.

The wife of the British ambassador who came today to throw the bottle on behalf of the shipowner. Although strictly speaking the property rights of this "free ship" still belong to the United States, it is clear that no one has any doubts about this arrangement. Anyway, the "Patrick Henry" was to be handed over to the British after it was launched. The Maritime Commission probably did not think that the ship would "live" until the end of the war, and generously ceded this right to the British.

Interestingly, however, instead of the usual champagne, the ambassador's wife threw a bottle of whisky today. While no one has ever dictated which bottle to throw at the toss (during Prohibition, Americans even used holy water in churches), champagne is generally preferred. John even wondered if the ambassador's wife was of Scottish descent, or had she simply received an "endorsement" fee from the whisky distillery.

Without much thought, the ambassador's wife soon threw a bottle of Scotch whisky cleanly at the bow of the ship under the expectant gaze of everyone, and the bottle made a beautiful arc in the air, and then smashed it.

The scene immediately resounded with even warmer cheers and applause than Roosevelt's speech just now. John also applauded the ambassador's wife for her outstanding performance. Judging from the action of throwing the whiskey bottle just now, this is obviously a veteran of throwing wine bottles. Whisky bottles are much thicker than regular champagne bottles, and this effect is indeed worthy of applause.

Don't think that the bottle toss is as simple as throwing a bottle at the bow of the boat, it's not the same thing as being a kick-off guest on a baseball field. On the baseball field, it doesn't matter how badly the kickoff guests throw, maybe they can make a lace news and rub off on the media heat. If you can't smash the bottle during the bottle throwing ceremony, it will be a big no-no.

Legend has it that before the advent of radio, whenever a ship was shipwrecked, the crew had to write on a piece of paper the name of the shipwreck, the date of the wreck, the location of the wreck, the name of the crew in distress, the place of origin and some other matters to be informed, and then roll up the paper and stuff it into an empty bottle, seal the mouth of the bottle and throw it into the ocean, leaving it to drift, hoping that the passing ship or the ship would be found on the coast, so as to rush to the rescue.

In fact, there is very little hope that the crew will be rescued after being shipwrecked at sea, so once the crew drops such a bottle, it means that he faces danger and death at sea, so the last thing the crew's families want to see is this kind of bottle.

Therefore, whenever the newly built big ship is launched, the owner's wife will smash a bottle of champagne on the bow of the ship, and let the mellow wine be sprinkled around the bow to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters, and pray for good luck. The more champagne bottles are broken, the better, indicating that once the ship is put on the voyage, it will always be smooth sailing and everything will be fine.

This kind of rumor John had heard in his past life and in this life, and it is impossible to verify whether it is true or not. However, it is said that if the bottle does not break, it will indeed bring bad luck to the ship. For example, the K-19 nuclear submarine of the former Soviet Union was bounced back intact when the wine bottle smashed into it during the launching ceremony. As a result, the submarine's service life can be described as a bumpy one, with a number of serious accidents. The Americans later adapted a film based on a nuclear reactor accident that occurred on the submarine - K-19: The Widowmaker.

Another well-known example is the "Camilla's Curse" that occurred in 2007. At that time, the British Cunard Steamship Company invited Camilla, the second wife of Prince Charles, to attend the launching ceremony of the passenger liner "Queen Victoria". During the bottle throw, Camilla failed to break the champagne bottle. It is said that viewers all over England were stunned at the time.

As a result, the "Queen Victoria" really broke out on her maiden voyage, causing all the passengers on the ship to vomit and leak. As a result, the British media nicknamed the incident ——— "Camilla's curse", believing that the bottle that failed to be smashed brought bad luck to the ship.

Regardless of the credibility of this statement, at least the performance of the ambassador's wife today is a good boon for "Patrick Henry" in the future at sea. Let's hope it goes well in the Atlantic in the future.