| The history of scuba diving is full of military prowess, | | | | Scuba diving was not just used for protection, but |
| inventor ingenuity, drowning, exploration and tourism. | | | | also for sustenance. In 1000 BC, Homer wrote in his |
| This unquenchable fascination with the depths of the | | | | book, The Odyssey, about how fishermen dove 100 |
| ocean has been fueled by novels like 20,000 Leagues | | | | feet, using a rock to expedite their submersion, to |
| Under The Sea and even Homer's Odyssey. | | | | collect sponges. |
| Anyone that has seen a special on the Discovery | | | | Divers would pour oil into their ears and mouths |
| Channel has probably felt a pull toward taking his or | | | | before diving to reduce pressure and used a tether |
| her own dive. Since the YMCA offered the first | | | | to reach the surface once they had cut as many |
| diving courses in 1959, one needn't be an expert or | | | | sponges as they could. By 100 BC, the profit potential |
| Navy Seal to take the plunge. | | | | of Mediterranean deep sea excavation was realized. |
| The military has long been fascinated with stealth | | | | Inventors were fascinated with the idea of scuba |
| methods of maneuvering around one's enemy, so | | | | diving and creating scuba gear to allow individuals to |
| naturally scuba diving took off. During the Trojan | | | | remain underwater for hours at a time. While |
| Wars, divers sabotaged enemy vessels by boring | | | | Leonardo da Vinci dreamt up some of the first |
| holes in the ships' hulls. The Greeks also tried | | | | prototypes and patents were issued for "rebirthing" |
| constructing elaborate underwater defensive shields | | | | devices in the 1700s, Jacques Cousteau was credited |
| to keep their attackers away. | | | | with the first successful functioning design in the |
| In 500 BC, Scyllias, a Greek soldier, dove from | | | | 1940s. |
| Persian King Xerxes' ship and held his breath | | | | A book written by Cousteau in the 1950s is said to |
| underwater for hours, using a hollow reed as a | | | | have created a recreational scuba diving industry, |
| snorkel, until he could alert his compatriots of the | | | | drawing thousands of fearless divers - despite |
| imminent danger. | | | | obvious dangers. In the next decade, YMCA and the |
| In 414 BC, Thucydides wrote of divers who swam | | | | Professional Association of Diving Instructors offered |
| to the bottom of the ocean to remove underwater | | | | diving courses to the average person to decrease |
| obstacles so their ships could pass safely into the | | | | the number of diving-related accidents. |
| harbors. | | | | There's a lot to be excited about in the scuba diving |
| In 332 BC, Aristotle reported that Alexander The | | | | world world these days. In August 2007 alone, divers |
| Great was lowered into the water in "a fine barrel | | | | were excavating Blackbeard's pirate ship off the |
| made of white glass" -- which was made out of a bell | | | | North Carolina coast, a WWII submarine (the USS |
| -- during the siege of Tyre. The Italians used scuba | | | | Grunion) off the Alaskan coast and ships from the |
| gear extensively in WWII and American combat | | | | Byzantine Empire in the Black Sea. For the true |
| divers were dubbed "frogmen" for their initially | | | | adventurer, it is the ocean -- and not space -- that |
| shocking appearance. | | | | has become the final frontier for mankind. |