Samuel Clemens?

Question

First correct answer gets not 8, not 9, but 10 points!

How did Mark Twain choose his name?

Answer 1

aaahhh it's on the tip of my tounge! It had something to do with what he did before he was a writer...OH! Didn't he mark something on the side of a boat, on the twain or something? Or....am I just talking nonsense? I remember learning this, I really do....but....but....not quite. Haha. Well at least I tried...

edit--Score! I was totally on the right track. I knew it had to do with measuring something off the side of a boat. Go me! I'm so proud.....haha.

Answer 2

In the days before sonar, the depth of water (here the Mississippi) was marked by someone throwing a weighted line off the bow of the boat and measure how much line was there.  It would be called out on up to the pilot.  "Mark Twain" meant that the water was 2 fathoms deep (Mark it at two) and safe to proceed.

Answer 3

The phrase "mark twain" was used by riverboats, or the people on them, to indicate there was enough water beneath a boat to pass a certain area (12 feet, "twain" meaning 2, and I believe the distance was measured in fathoms (equivalent to 6 feet)).

I probably took too long to answer this.

Edit: 31 seconds. Blargh.