Diving History
Learn the Diving History and understand the development of the different aspects of Diving as time progresses.
Prehistoric artifacts as well as ancient drawings which depicted Divers can be used as evidences that people have practiced breath-hold Diving centuries ago.
Breath-hold Diving was believed to be used in military exploits in ancient Greece. There was a time when the Greek Scyllis was held prisoner by the Persian King Xerxes I. Upon learning that the Persian King would attack a Greek fleet, he put the matter into his own hands. He jumped overboard with a knife. This had fooled the Persians. They thought that Scyllis had drowned and was already dead since they weren't able to find him in the water. What they didn't know was that Scyllis used a hollow reed in order for him to be able to breathe and remain unnoticed. He came out at night and at King Xerxes' fleet, he cut each ship loose from its jetty.
Although people wanted to go diving for food and other purposes, there was no way that they could breathe and stay longer underwater. There were attempts of using a hollow reed as well as an air-filled bag, but both of them didn't get the work done.
The first effective device people used to stay underwater for longer periods of time was the Diving bell. In using this, the bell was positioned a few feet from the water surface. The bottom part was open to water while the top part contained air which was compressed using water pressure. A Diver could stay longer underwater, and then go back after a while until he could no longer breathe the air in the bell.
When it comes to Scuba Diving Gear, a full Diving Suit was used during the 16th century England and France. Diving Suits were made of leather and they could be used to a depth of 60 feet. Manual pumps were used to enable the Divers to breathe.
Soon, other pieces of Scuba Diving Gear and equipment such as metal helmets were made to allow Divers to go deeper and hold out to water pressure long enough.
Developments were made as time progressed. In the 19th century, underwater exploration was done through a scientific and technological investigation. Paul Bert of France and John Scott Haldane of Scotland made a research on how water pressure affects the body how people can go compressed air diving safely.
At present, hundreds of studies were already done about the different aspects of Diving. People have tried diving on different locations and conditions. That is why we now have a lot of different Diving Variations. Moreover, with the aid of technology, the desire to better explore the marine world is what pushes people to improve the various pieces of Scuba Diving Gear.
Nowadays, more and more people are getting engrossed in Diving, not just as a form of recreation but also as a sport and a way of life. Diving has truly come a long way from its start as part of military exploits in ancient Greece and it will definitely continue to progress as it become more widely-popular among outdoor enthusiasts.
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