Corrected entry: There is no way that a wooden crate would be able to not take on water and sink to the bottom of the ocean once it fell off of the ship, especially if you consider what's being transported, e.g. the hippo.
Rollin Garcia Jr
1st Jul 2005
Correction: The crate could have taken on water, however wouldn't sink to the bottom of the ocean, even with the hippo inside 1) because the crate is made out of wood it would float with its top just slightly above the water level albeit filled with water, 2) a hippo floats in water so even better in salt water even in decomposed state.