The cargo consisted of 1,701 barrels of alcohol shipped by Meissner, Ackerman & Co. of New York. There were no other goods loaded on board.
When the ship was unloaded, the cargo was found to contain nine empty barrels. According to Brian Dunning's well researched Skeptoid Podcast #289 December 20th, 2011 the explanation is as follows:The reason they were empty would have been clear to any cooper. All of those many barrels were of white oak, except for those nine, which were of red oak. Of the species of wood sold as white oak, the majority have occluded pores. This makes the wood watertight, which is why white oak is used for wine barrels and other barrels intended to hold liquid. The pores in the wood of the twenty or so species of red oak, on the other hand, are open; allowing liquids to seep through the wood. Consequently, red oak barrels should only be used for dry goods. But, for some reason, Meissner Ackermann & Co. (owner of the alcohol) used nine of the wrong type of barrel.
