Square rig

Okay kiddo, so have you ever seen a sailboat with big, flat sails that look like rectangles? Those are what we call square sails or a square rig.

Now, imagine that these sails are attached to tall masts using ropes and pulleys. When the wind blows, it hits these sails and makes the boat move forward.

The reason why they're called square sails is because they look like squares when they're unfurled. Picture a piece of paper that has been folded in half to make a right angle triangle. Now imagine that you fold that triangle in half again, like a book. That's a square sail!

Square rigs were used on big sailing ships long ago, like the ones that pirates used. They were really useful in windy conditions because they could catch the wind easily and help the ship move faster through the water.

However, square rigs were harder to use when the wind was blowing in a different direction than the ship was trying to sail, or when turning the ship. That's why nowadays we mostly use triangular sails. But square rigs are still amazing to look at, and you can see them on some boats during special events or in museums.