does anybody know what the significance is of the twenty one gun salute?
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
I believe it originated with the Royal Navy. 21 gun salutes (the most allowed) were reserved for the King and Queen. Why 21? Dunno. For some reasons all salutes were odd numbers.
It was a custom to always salute the port commander of whatever port of call a warship entered. With the slow communications and rapidly changing alliances during the Napoleonic Wars I’ve often wondered how the people in such ports could be sure whether the gunfire was a salute or a bombardment.
Here’s the answer according to the Straight Dope Archives.
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m21gun.html
Does that help?
JMCJ
“John C., it looks like you have blended in very nicely.”
-UncleBeer