>> Narrator: OUR PASSPORT TO THE DEEP-- UNDERWATER BREATHING INVENTIONS THAT ALLOW US TO INVADE INNER SPACE, TO RIDE IN AQUATIC CHARIOTS, TO EXPLORE THE DANGERS AND MYSTERIES BENEATH THE WAVES. NOW, "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> <font color="#FFFF00"> [Captioning sponsored by</font> <font color="#FFFF00"> A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS]</font> IT IS ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN UNDERWATER HISTORY-- SYLVIA EARLE, UNDERSEAS PIONEER AND EXPLORER, DONS AN 800-POUND PRESSURIZED ATMOSPHERIC SUIT TO DIVE STRAIGHT DOWN TO THE OCEAN FLOOR, 1,250 FEET. SHE DESCENDS TO A DARK AND ALIEN WORLD WHERE UNDERWATER PRESSURE IS 600 POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH. ONLY HER ARMORED SUIT KEEPS HER BODY FROM BEING UTTERLY CRUSHED. >> Sylvia Earle: AT ABOUT 700 FEET, IT WAS TRULY THAT SORT OF VIOLET BLUE, THIS ULTRA BLUE, AND YOU COULD SEE LIGHTS. YOU COULD SEE BIOLUMINESCENCE. IT'S LIKE FALLING INTO STARS. >> Narrator: MORE MEN HAVE WALKED ON THE MOON THAN WHERE THIS WOMAN WALKED, AND UNTETHERED AND ALONE, SHE BECAME THE FIRST HUMAN BEING EVER TO MAKE A SOLO DIVE AT THIS DEPTH. SYLVIA EARLE'S HISTORIC DIVE WAS IN 1979, AND EVEN SINCE THEN, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF OUR PLANET'S OCEAN DEPTHS HAVE BEEN SEEN BY MAN, MUCH LESS EXPLORED. IT HAS BEEN A STRUGGLE TO PENETRATE AN UNNATURAL WORLD WHERE WE CANNOT BREATHE WITHOUT HELP. IT IS ALSO A WORLD THAT POSES A TROUBLESOME PROBLEM OF PRESSURE. WATER IS 800 TIMES AS DENSE AS AIR, AND WHEN DESCENDING BELOW SEA LEVEL, PRESSURE INCREASES RAPIDLY. AT ABOUT 400 FEET DOWN, YOUR BODY IS SUBJECTED TO ALMOST 177 POUNDS OF PRESSURE. BEYOND A CERTAIN DEPTH, YOUR BODY WOULD BE CRUSHED BY THE FORCE OF THE WATER... BUT THE LURE, THE SIREN SONG TO DIVE DEEP HAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED US. MAN'S PRIMORDIAL DESIRE TO GO BELOW THE WAVES BEGAN EVEN BEFORE RECORDED TIME. EVEN THEN, HE KNEW THERE HAD TO BE A WAY TO OVERCOME THE NATURAL LIMITS UNDER THE SEA. IT WAS OUR FIRST REAL BREATHING DEVICE-- THE HOLLOW REED. ANCIENT MAN PROBABLY GOT THE IDEA FOR THE SNORKEL FROM WATCHING MAMMOTHS USE THEIR TRUNKS TO BREATHE UNDERWATER. IT ONLY WORKED TO THE DEPTH OF ABOUT A FOOT AND A HALF, BUT IF HE HAD A SACK OF AIR, THEN HE COULD TAKE HIS AIR SUPPLY WITH HIM. THIS DIVER FROM 2,000 YEARS AGO, BREATHES FROM AN INFLATED ANIMAL BLADDER. IT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE UP TO ABOUT 20 FEET, BECAUSE WATER PRESSURE WOULD COMPRESS THE SACK OF AIR, SQUEEZING IT ALMOST FLAT, BUT IT WAS THE START. IN A STUNNING ILLUSTRATION RECOUNTING A SCENE IN 332 B.C., ALEXANDER THE GREAT DESCENDS INTO THE SEA IN A GREAT GLASS BARREL CALLED THE<i> CALIMPHA.</i> HE WAS SAID TO HAVE SEEN MARINE MONSTERS AND A SPECIES OF DEMON. IF ALEXANDER'S DESCENT WAS TRUE, IT WAS IN THE FIRST DIVING BELL, A MILESTONE IN MAN'S ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE THE SEA. BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL THE DAWN OF THE 16th CENTURY THAT THE AGE OF INVENTION FOR DIVING REALLY BEGAN. IT'S HERALD? ARTIST, INVENTOR AND VISIONARY, LEONARDO DI VINCI. AT THE TIME, VENICE WAS LOCKED IN BITTER BATTLE AGAINST THE TURKS, AND HAD HATCHED A PLAN TO USE DIVERS TO SABOTAGE TURKISH SHIPS. THEY WANTED LEONARDO TO INVENT A BREATHING DEVICE TO HELP WIN THE WAR. >> Robert Marx: THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WAY YOU COULD SUCK AIR MORE THAN ABOUT 18 INCHES. SO, IT WAS GREAT ON THE PAPER. HE EVEN MADE WHAT LOOKED LIKE THE FIRST SCUBA EQUIPMENT-- AN INFLATED BLADDER WITH A MOUTHPIECE ON IT AND ALL THAT AND THAT WOULD BE GREAT IN A COUPLE FEET OF WATER, BUT, REMEMBER, AS YOU GO DOWN, IT WOULD GET COMPRESSED, COMPRESSED, COMPRESSED, AND YOU'D ONLY HAVE A FEW BREATHS, LET'S SAY, AT 30 FEET. SO, NONE OF HIS THINGS REALLY, REALLY WORKED, BUT THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT. >> Narrator: LIKE OTHER SCIENCE- FICTION-TYPE SNORKELS DESIGNED DURING THE RENAISSANCE, LEONARDO'S WOULD ONLY HAVE WORKED TO A DEPTH OF ABOUT A FOOT AND A HALF. A DIVER'S LUNGS WOULD BE SUBJECT TO PRESSURES SO GREAT, HE'D BE UNABLE TO DRAW AIR DOWN FOR MORE THAN A FEW BREATHS. TREASURE-- GOLD, JEWELS, PIECES OF EIGHT. WAR WASN'T THE ONLY REASON WHY DIVING TOOLS WERE BECOMING A NECESSITY. EVERY YEAR THAT PASSED, THE NEED GREW TO DIVE DOWN DEEP. SINCE COLUMBUS'S DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD, SHIPS LADEN WITH RICHES SUNK FROM STORMS AND PIRATES. SO, BUSY INVENTORS TURNED TO THE DIVING BELL TO RECOVER RICHES. MADE OF METAL, WOOD OR LEATHER, THEY TRAPPED AIR FROM THE SURFACE, AND, WHEN HELD LEVEL AS THEY DESCENDED, THE AIR WAS KEPT FROM ESCAPING. THEY ENCLOSED EITHER A DIVER'S HEAD OR ENTIRE BODY. IT WAS AN AIR BANK FOR WORKERS WHO WOULD SWIM OUTSIDE, GET THEIR JOB DONE AND RETURN WHEN THEY NEEDED A GULP OF AIR. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BELLS WERE CREATED BY THE FAMOUS ENGLISH ASTRONOMER, DR. EDMOND HALLEY. HE CONCEIVED OF AIR BEING LOWERED DOWN IN CASKS TO REPLENISH STAGNANT, SOMETIMES POISONOUS AIR, AND HIS NEW BELL FOUND PLENTY OF USES. >> Leslie Leaney: THE MOST COMMON USE FOR THE BELL WAS ON SALVAGE OR CONSTRUCTION OF HARBORS AND INSPECTION, UH, SOMETIMES DOING, UH, BRIDGE WORK, BUT GENERALLY, THE ONES THAT ARE RECORDED IN THE EARLY DAYS ARE SALVAGE BELLS. >> Narrator: BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL THE INVENTION OF A RELIABLE PUMP IN 1788 THAT DIVING BELLS REALLY BECAME COMMONPLACE. NOW, CONTINUOUS FRESH AIR COULD BE PUMPED FROM THE SURFACE, AND THE STAGNANT AIR COULD ESCAPE UNDERNEATH. THIS INNOVATION MADE SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT IN BELLS THAT BY THE END OF THE 18th CENTURY, FEW BIG PORTS WERE WITHOUT THEM. OF ALL THINGS, IT WAS FIRE THAT HELPED INVENTORS ENTER THE NEW AGE OF DIVING-- FIRE AND TWO BROTHERS, CHARLES AND JOHN DEANE OF WEXTABLE, ENGLAND. TOGETHER, THEY CREATED THE DIVING HELMET. >> Bev Morgan: THEY ACTUALLY EVOLVED FROM A FIRE FIGHTING HELMET-- "SMOKE HELMET," THEY CALLED IT. THE DEANE BROTHERS WERE FIREFIGHTERS, AND THEY LIVED IN ENGLAND AND, UH, THEY CAME UP WITH A WAY TO GO INTO A BURNING HOUSE TO RESCUE PEOPLE, AND THEY THOUGHT, "GEE, THIS MIGHT WORK FOR GOING UNDERWATER AND DOING SALVAGE," AND IT DID, OF COURSE. >> Narrator: THE DEANE BROTHERS TEAMED UP WITH A MAN NAMED AUGUSTUS SIEBE TO REFINE THE SMOKE HELMET, AND WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH WAS THE FIRST OPEN DIVING SUIT. IT HAD A BRASS HELMET WITH AIR PUMPED IN FROM THE SURFACE, AND EXCESS AIR VENTED OUT NEAR THE WAIST. >> Leaney: IT WAS A VERY, VERY DANGEROUS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, BECAUSE YOU COULD<i> NOT</i> LEAN FORWARD TOO FAR, BECAUSE THE WATER LEVEL WOULD COME UP AS YOU LEANT, AND YOU CERTAINLY COULDN'T LAY DOWN, BECAUSE IT WOULD FLOOD. >> Narrator: IN 1837, SIEBE MODIFIED HIS SUIT, MAKING IT COMPLETELY WATERPROOF, AND ADDING AN EXHAUST VENT ON TOP OF THE HELMET. SUDDENLY, THE DIVER WALKED FREELY ON THE OCEAN FLOOR AND BREATHED AIR FROM THE SURFACE. THE HELMET HAD REPLACED THE BELL. >> Marx: REMEMBER, IF YOU'RE USING A DIVING BELL, YOU'RE ONLY DOWN FOR A SMALL PERIOD OF TIME. THEN, YOU GOT TO TRY TO GO BACK AND FIND THAT PLACE WHERE YOU JUST GRABBED THE HANDFUL OF GOLD COINS. IF YOU GOT A HELMET SUIT ON, MAN, YOU COULD KEEP FILLING SACK AFTER SACK WITH THOSE GOLD COINS-- A LOT MORE FUN. >> Narrator: AS SOON AS SIEBE'S NEW CLOSED HELMET AND SUIT COULD BE MANUFACTURED, IT WAS PUT TO THE TEST ON THE WRECK OF THE<i> ROYAL GEORGE.</i> SUNK 50 YEARS BEFORE, THE<i> ROYAL GEORGE</i> HAD BEEN THE BIGGEST, MOST IMPORTANT SHIP THE BRITISH NAVY OWNED, BUT NOW IT SERVED AS A SERIOUS BARRIER IN THE BUSY PORT AT SPITHEAD. LYING 65 FEET DOWN, DIVING BELLS HAD BEEN TRIED, BUT STRONG CURRENTS MADE THEM USELESS. THE SIEBE SUIT WAS A<i> HUGE</i> SUCCESS. >> Leaney: WITH THE SIEBE HELMET THAT WAS INTRODUCED ONTO THE <i> ROYAL GEORGE</i> IN 1840, AND WAS MODIFIED SLIGHTLY DURING THAT SEASON, YOU HAD BASICALLY PERFECTION. >> Marx: I MEAN, THE ONLY ADDITIONS THAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH THIS SUIT IS, YOU KNOW, AFTER WORLD WAR I, THEY FINALLY PUT A MICROPHONE WHERE YOU COULD TALK TO THE GUYS ON THE SURFACE AND THEY COULD TALK TO YOU, AND A FEW REFINEMENTS, BUT BASICALLY, FOR 150 YEARS, HIS SUIT WAS STILL IN USE, AND IT'S STILL IN USE IN A LOT OF PLACES IN THE WORLD TODAY. >> Narrator: IT TOOK 5h YEARS TO SALVAGE THE<i> ROYAL GEORGE,</i> BUT SINGLE-HANDEDLY, IT LAUNCHED A NEW TECHNOLOGY-- COMMERCIAL DIVING-- AND AS THE HELMET DIVER FOUND MORE USES FOR HIS SUIT, AND WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR COMPRESSORS, HE BEGAN TO DESCEND DEEPER AND DEEPER, AND THAT'S WHEN HE DISCOVERED THE BENDS. >> Steve Barsky: IF YOU'RE A COMMERCIAL DIVER, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE EXPECTATION THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET BENT. IT'S NOT<i> IF</i> YOU'RE GOING TO GET BENT-- IT'S<i> WHEN</i> YOU'RE GOING TO GET BENT. >> Narrator: WHEN A DIVER DESCENDS, THE AMOUNT OF NITROGEN DISSOLVED IN HIS BODY INCREASES PROPORTIONALLY TO THE INCREASE IN WATER PRESSURE. AT 33 FEET DOWN, HE BREATHES TWICE AS MUCH NITROGEN AS ON THE SURFACE. AT 66 FEET DOWN, THREE TIMES AS MUCH, AND SO ON, AND WHEN HE'S BEEN BREATHING COMPRESSED AIR FOR SOME TIME AT SOME DEPTH AND THEN RISES, THE NITROGEN IN HIS BLOOD FORMS BUBBLES AS THE PRESSURE DECREASES, LIKE A CORK BEING POPPED ON A CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE. THESE BUBBLES CAN LAND IN THE JOINTS AND CREATE PAIN IN THE ELBOWS OR SHOULDER, OR WORSE, THEY CAN LODGE IN THE SPINAL COLUMN AND CAUSE PARALYSIS. THEY CAN EVEN GET STUCK IN THE LUNGS OR ACCUMULATE IN THE HEART AND CAUSE DEATH. IN THE ENDEAVOR TO FIND A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM, A SCOTSMAN, JOHN HALDANE, CONCEIVED OF DECOMPRESSION TABLES IN 1907. THE TABLES SPECIFY WAITING STAGES FOR ASCENDING DIVERS, STOPS THEY HAVE TO MAKE ON THE WAY UP, TO ALLOW NITROGEN TO PASS THROUGH THEIR SYSTEM. SO, NOW, WITH AN UNLIMITED SUPPLY OF AIR, A WAY TO AVOID THE BENDS, AND CLEAR VERBAL COMMUNICATION FROM A LINE FROM YOUR TENDER, THERE WAS ALMOST NOTHING HELMET DIVERS COULDN'T DO, EXCEPT SWIM. IT TOOK INVENTORS OF THE SELF-CONTAINED UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS TO FIND THAT KIND OF FREEDOM IN THE SEA, AND A BETTER WAY TO BATTLE ENEMIES BENEATH THE WAVES. "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" WILL RETURN ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> >> Narrator: WE NOW RETURN TO "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> IT WAS JULES VERNE'S TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY SCIENCE FICTION DREAM-- MEN WALKING ON THE FLOOR OF THE SEA, UNTETHERED, FREE AS A FISH AND SHOOTING SHARKS WITH UNDERWATER RIFLES, AND BATTLING GIANT SQUID. BUT THIS WAS NO MORE STRANGE AND FANCIFUL THAN THE FIRST WORKABLE, FULL-TIME SELF-CONTAINED UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS, OR "SCUBA." IT WAS A SUIT MADE FOR WALKING, NOT SWIMMING. CREATED IN 1825 BY ENGLISHMAN WILLIAM JAMES, IT WAS A HUGE AIR RESERVOIR WORN LIKE A BELT AROUND THE WAIST, AND INSTEAD OF FINS, IT CAME WITH BOOTS, KEEPING DIVERS' FEET FIRMLY PLANTED ON THE BOTTOM. THE IDEA FOR THE NEXT BIG STEP IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCUBA CAME NOT FROM THE SEA, BUT FROM DEEP WITHIN THE BLACK PITS OF COAL MINES. IN THE 1860s, MINERS FACED HORRIBLE DANGERS. ONE OF THE WORST-- METHANE GAS, DEADLY AND ODORLESS. MINERS COULDN'T BE RESCUED FROM THE FUMES BECAUSE OF THE DANGER TO THE RESCUER, BUT FRENCH MINING ENGINEER BENOIT ROUQUAYROL AND NAVY OFFICER LIEUTENANT AUGUSTE DENAYROUZE CHANGED THAT. INVENTED FOR MINERS BUT ADAPTED FOR DIVERS, THE ROUQUAYROL- DENAYROUZE APPARATUS ACTUALLY DEPENDED UPON AIR PUMPED DOWN FROM THE SURFACE TO A METAL CYLINDER STRAPPED ON THE DIVER'S BACK, BUT IT COULD BE DISCONNECTED FOR SHORT BURSTS USING JUST THE AIR IN THE TANK. Leaney: THE RESTRICTION OF IT, WHY IT WASN'T HUGELY SUCCESSFUL, WAS THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO PRESSURIZE THE AIR CYLINDERS TO ANY GREAT DEGREE. THE ORIGINAL UNITS WOULD HOLD SOMEWHERE ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE BREATHS, SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE. >> Narrator: BUT WHAT REALLY EARNED THESE FRENCHMEN'S INVENTION AN IMMORTAL PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF DIVING WAS THEIR REGULATOR, A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OTHER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN SCUBA. IT WAS AIR ON DEMAND. THE REGULATOR WAS AN ATTACHMENT TO THE TANK THAT CONTROLLED THE FLOW OF AIR PASSING FROM THE HOSE TO THE DIVER'S MOUTHPIECE. WHEN AIR PRESSURE INSIDE THE AIR RESERVOIR WAS GREATER THAN THE WATER PRESSURE, A MEMBRANE AUTOMATICALLY SEALED OFF THE VALVE. WHEN THE DIVER INHALED, AIR PRESSURE INCREASED QUICKLY, CAUSING THE VALVE TO OPEN, PROVIDING MORE AIR. JUST FIVE YEARS AFTER ROUQUAYROL-DENAYROUZE UNVEILED THEIR ENGINEERING FEAT, IT WAS IMMORTALIZED IN JULES VERNE'S MASTERPIECE OF FICTION <i> 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.</i> READERS THOUGHT THE AUTHOR WAS A GENIUS AND WERE AMAZED AT HIS FLIGHTS OF FANCY. LITTLE DID THEY REALIZE IT WASN'T FICTION AT ALL. Leaney: HE DIDN'T HAVE TO CREATE ANYTHING. IT WAS IN THE TRADE CATALOGUES OF ROUQUAYROL-DENAYROUZE, AVAILABLE IN FRANCE AND ELSEWHERE AND ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS GIVE THEM AN UNLIMITED AIR SUPPLY. SO THE FACT ENFORCES THE FICTION. GREAT. PERFECT. >> Narrator: THE NEXT MILESTONE IN MAN'S EFFORT TOWARD BECOMING SELF-CONTAINED IS THE FIRST FULLY INDEPENDENT DIVING LUNG-- THE REBREATHER, FIRST ENGINEERED IN 1878. IT FUNCTIONED ON AIR-REGENERATION. INSTEAD OF USING COMPRESSED AIR, THE REBREATHER USED PURE OXYGEN, AND AT THE HEART OF THE INVENTION WAS ITS FILTER. FILLED WITH CAUSTIC SODA, IT ABSORBED ALL THE DANGEROUS CARBON DIOXIDE EXHAUSTED BY THE DIVER, SO HE COULD BREATHE THE SAME OXYGEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN. NOT ONLY COULD YOU STAY DOWN LONGER WITH THE REBREATHER, BUT THERE WERE ALSO NO TELLTALE BUBBLES RELEASED IN THE WATER. IT WAS AN AMAZING INVENTION, BUT POTENTIALLY A KILLER. BELOW ABOUT 30 FEET, OXYGEN CAN BE POISONOUS, CAUSING BRAIN CELLS TO FIRE AT RANDOM, TRIGGERING CONVULSIONS UNDERWATER AND, WORSE, RESULT IN DROWNING, BUT THEN THE EVOLUTION OF THE UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS STOPS FOR A FEW DECADES-- IN FACT, UNTIL THE EARLY 1930s, WHEN, IN THE WARM WATERS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, RECREATIONAL DIVING WAS LAUNCHED. IT WAS A NEW ADVENTURE-- SPEAR HUNTING-- AND WITH JUST GOGGLES, FINS AND A SNORKEL, IT ATTRACTED NEW ENTHUSIASTS TO A NEW IDEA: DIVING FOR FUN. A YOUNG JACQUES COUSTEAU WAS ONE OF THE NEW GOGGLERS, AND SO WAS ANOTHER FRENCHMAN, COMMANDANT YVES LE PRIEUR. THE FIRST MAN IN THE WORLD TO TEACH SCUBA, HE GAVE LESSONS TO STUDENTS IN A POOL IN PARIS. IN 1933, THIS NAVAL CAPTAIN AND BRILLIANT INVENTOR OBTAINED A PATENT FOR HIS SCUBA SYSTEM. IT CONSISTED OF A COMPRESSED AIR BOTTLE SLUNG ON THE CHEST, WITH AN AIR HOSE TO A FULL FACE MASK. HE USED A HAND-OPERATED VALVE TO ALLOW THE DIVER TO CONTROL THE FREE FLOW OF AIR. LE PRIEUR FOUNDED THE FIRST SPORT DIVING SOCIETY IN 1934. HIS GROUP EVEN PERFORMED AN UNDERWATER BALLET WITH COLORED LIGHTS AT THE 1937 PARIS FAIR. WORLD WAR II DROVE THE CAREFREE DIVERS FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN AND CLOSED THE POOLS IN PARIS, BUT SELF-CONTAINED DIVING WAS TO TAKE ON MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE IN COMBAT. IT WAS TOP SECRET ON BOTH SIDES AND THE UNDERWATER WARRIORS BECAME SOME OF THE BRAVEST FIGHTING MEN IN THE MILITARY. THESE CLASSIFIED, SECRET UNDERWATER OPERATIONS WERE FILMED BY THE U.S. OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICE NOW KNOW AS THE O.S.S. THIS TRAINING FILM SHOWS A DIVER USING AN OXYGEN REBREATHER, DRIVING A BRITISH UNDERWATER COMBAT VEHICLE WHICH CARRIED HIM INTO ENEMY HARBORS WHERE HE COULD ATTACH AN UNDERWATER EXPLOSIVE CALLED A LIMPET MINE ONTO THE HULLS OF ENEMY SHIPS. BUT THE BRITISH WERE NOT THE FIRST TO USE COMBAT DIVERS-- IT WAS THE ITALIANS, AND FIRST, IN ATTACKS AGAINST GIBRALTAR IN 1940. THE BRITISH CALLED THEM "FROGMEN" FOR THEIR RUBBER SUITS AND FROG-LIKE FINS, BUT THE ITALIANS WERE LITERALLY HUMAN TORPEDOES. WEARING OXYGEN REBREATHERS, THEY STRADDLED WHAT WAS CALLED A<i> MAIALE</i> OR "PIG" AND SAILED UNDERWATER, MANNED WITH A 300-KILOGRAM WARHEAD, AND MUCH LIKE THIS TRAINING FILM, THEY SWAM ALONGSIDE THE ENEMY SHIP, CLAMPED THE TORPEDO TO THE HULL, SET THE FUSE, AND SWAM AWAY. THE FIRST ITALIAN ATTACKS MYSTIFIED THE BRITISH NAVY, PENETRATING EVEN ANTI-SUBMARINE DEFENSES. THE ATTACKS SEEMED TO COME FROM NOWHERE, BUT ONCE BRITISH INTELLIGENCE DISCOVERED WHAT THEY WERE FACING, THEY QUICKLY FOUGHT BACK. Marx: SO WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS DROP DEPTH CHARGES OR HAND GRENADES OR SOME KIND OF EXPLOSIVES. IN A LOT OF CASES, IT WOULD ACTUALLY KILL THE DIVERS IF THEY WERE CLOSE ENOUGH, OR JUST BREAK THEIR EARDRUMS AND... WHAT'S A LITTLE PAIN? THE MISSION'S MORE IMPORTANT. >> Narrator: THE AMERICANS WERE THE LAST TO JOIN THE CORPS OF FROGMEN, AND IT WASN'T REALLY UNTIL THE INVASION OF THE PACIFIC. THEY WERE HUNDRED-MAN VOLUNTEER UNITS NAMED UNDERWATER DEMOLITION TEAMS, BUT THEY WERE SOMETIMES CALLED THE "NAKED WARRIORS." LATE TO START, THEY QUICKLY BECAME AN UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS. 200 U.S. DIVERS CARRIED OUT MISSIONS AT GUAM AND NOT A MAN WAS LOST. THE FIRST U.D.T.s CLEARED THE WAY FOR THE MARINES TO LAND BEACH INVASIONS BY BLASTING REEFS AND LOCATING MINES, OFTEN WITH THE ENEMY THERE ON THE BEACH SHOOTING AT THEM, AND THEY HAD NO EQUIPMENT EXCEPT FOR GOGGLES, A KNIFE AND A SWIM SUIT. BY THE END OF THE WAR, FROGMEN HAD ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AS A PROUD AND VITAL PART OF THE U.S. NAVY AND THEIR IMPORTANCE HAS ONLY GROWN. IN 1962, PRESIDENT KENNEDY INAUGURATED THE NAVY SEALS AND SINCE THEN, THEY HAVE EARNED THE REPUTATION BY MANY AS THE BEST-TRAINED UNDERWATER WARRIORS IN THE WORLD. Marx: SEALS ARE TRAINED WITH EVERY WEAPON, NOT JUST EVERY AMERICAN WEAPON, BUT EVERY WEAPON OF OTHER COUNTRIES. THEY USUALLY KNOW TWO OR THREE OR FOUR LANGUAGES. THEIR JOB ISN'T JUST TO DO THINGS IN THE WATER. THEY GO ON LAND BEHIND ENEMY LINES OR IN SECRET PLACES AND DO ALL KIND OF NAUGHTY WORK. >> Narrator: BUT WAR AND COMBAT WEREN'T THE ONLY USE FOR SCUBA. WITH THE INVENTION OF THE AQUA-LUNG CAME A NEW SPORT AND A NEW CRAZE, PROVING THERE'S ALMOST NOTHING DIVERS WON'T DO UNDERWATER. "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" WILL RETURN ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> >> Narrator: WE NOW RETURN TO "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> IT WAS THE DAWN OF RECREATIONAL SCUBA DIVING. HANS HASS BECAME THE FIRST PERSON IN HISTORY TO EXPLORE AND FILM THE SECRETS OF THE OPEN OCEAN WITH SCUBA, BEGINNING IN 1939. AN AUSTRIAN ADVENTURER AND BRILLIANT YOUNG MARINE BIOLOGIST, HASS WAS A WATER GOD AND SWAM WITH THE FISH WITH THE MASTERY OF NEPTUNE. >> Leaney: WHEN WE LOOK BACK INTO DIVING HISTORY, THIS IS THE MAN THAT OPENED THE WORLD'S EYES-- THIS IS THE FIRST UNDERWATER FILMMAKER THAT'S OUT THERE SWIMMING WITH THE FISH, RECORDING THEIR BEHAVIOR. HE HAS SO MANY FIRSTS IN FOOTAGE OF FILM-- FIRST MANTA RAYS, FIRST SHARKS, ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS-- AND HE'LL BE REMEMBERED PARTLY FOR THAT, BUT FOR THE GREAT ADVENTURE. >> Narrator: HASS DONNED A REBREATHER, FINS AND A FACE MASK AND CHANGED WALK-DIVING INTO SWIM-DIVING TO STUDY AND FILM A WHOLE NEW UNDERWATER WORLD, AND FROM THE AEGEAN TO THE RED SEA, HE LED HIS OWN EXPEDITIONS FROM CONTINENT TO CONTINENT, TOTALLY SELF-FUNDED, AND WITH AN INEXHAUSTIBLE FASCINATION FOR HIS SUBJECT. HE STIRRED THE MAINLY EUROPEAN PUBLIC WITH HIS BEST-SELLING BOOKS AND FILMS BUT IN AMERICA, HE WAS NEVER REALLY WELL-KNOWN. BUT INSTEAD, THE MAN WHO<i> DID</i> BECOME THE LEGEND OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD WAS NAVY CAPTAIN JACQUES YVES COUSTEAU. WHILE NAZIS MARCHED INTO PARIS AND RULED HIS COUNTRY WITH AN IRON FIST, COUSTEAU AND ENGINEER EMILE GAGNON DEVELOPED THE AQUA-LUNG AND FINALLY GAVE US A SAFE WAY TO EXPLORE THE WORLD HANS HASS HAD OPENED FOR US. BUT COUSTEAU WAS NOT REALLY AN INVENTOR. HE WAS AN EARLY FILMMAKER AND HIS DESIRE TO PHOTOGRAPH HIS FRIEND FREDERICK DUMAS UNDERWATER INSPIRED THE INVENTION. >> Jean-Michel Cousteau: THEY WERE DOING FREE DIVING, AND FREDERICK DUMAS WAS A WORLD SPEARFISHING CHAMPION. SO MY DAD WAS FOLLOWING HIM MOSTLY TO FILM HIM. SO THEY HAD TO SYNCHRONIZE THEIR DIVING AND IT WAS DIFFICULT. THEY WERE GOING DOWN VERY DEEP. THEY HAD TO STAY THERE FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIMES, LIKE TWO MINUTES, WHICH IS A LONG TIME, AND, UH, THEY FELT IT WAS TIRING, AND THAT'S WHEN THEY STARTED THINKING ABOUT "HOW CAN WE STAY THERE AND BE LIKE A FISH?" >> Narrator: WHAT COUSTEAU AND GAGNON DID WAS MODIFY THE ROUQUAYROL-DENAYROUZE REGULATOR AND IMPROVE UPON THE AIR HOSE AND MOUTHPIECE. THEY ENDED UP WITH A FULLY AUTOMATIC AQUA-LUNG WHICH SUPPLIED AIR UPON DEMAND TO THE DIVER AT EXACTLY THE APPROPRIATE PRESSURE. THE COUSTEAU-GAGNON AQUA-LUNG BECAME THE MOST IMPORTANT DIVING TOOL OF THE CENTURY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, THE AQUA-LUNG ALLOWED DIVERS TO REACH DEPTHS THEY COULD NEVER REACH BEFORE, AND STAY DOWN LONGER. IT WAS A PASSPORT TO INNER SPACE. BUT AS A NAVAL OFFICER, COUSTEAU WAS NOT A RICH MAN, AND EQUIPMENT AND CAMERAS AND FILM WERE EXPENSIVE. HE HAD TO CUT CORNERS WHENEVER POSSIBLE TO FILM HIS NEW WORLD. >> Cousteau: I REMEMBER MY MOTHER PUTTING HER JEWELRY AT THE PAWNSHOP IN ORDER FOR MY DAD TO DO WHAT HE WANTED TO DO AND I ALSO REMEMBER, DURING THE WAR WHEN I WAS TINY, MY MOTHER SPENDING HOURS UNDER THE BLANKET IN THE BED, GLUING PIECES OF FILM TOGETHER, BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T FIND ROLLS OF FILM, UH, TO PUT IN THE MOVIE CAMERA. SO THEY WOULD TAKE STILL ROLLS OF FILMS, WHICH HAD 36 FRAMES, AND SHE WOULD GLUE THEM TOGETHER IN ORDER TO MAKE A ROLL OF FILM. >> Narrator: MORE THAN ANYTHING, COUSTEAU WAS A PASSIONATE EXPLORER WITH A MISSION TO SHARE HIS DISCOVERIES, AND HIS FILMS DID JUST THAT. THEY SPARKED AN INTEREST IN A NEW SPORT THAT HAS NEVER STOPPED GROWING. AND IN THE EARLY 1950s, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WAS MORE THAN READY FOR SCUBA. IN FACT, IT HAD BEEN WAITING. SURFERS WERE ALREADY BECOMING SPEARFISHERMEN, BUT WITHOUT A TANK. >> Morgan: I WAS A SURFER, AND I SAW THESE PEOPLE IN THE WATER, AND THEY WERE COMING UP WITH THINGS, AND I PADDLED OVER THERE AND I SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?" "WE'RE GETTING DINNER." AND THAT MADE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME, AND SO MY INITIAL LURE WAS DINNER. >> Narrator: COUSTEAU'S AQUA-LUNG DIDN'T HIT A CALIFORNIA SPORT SHOP UNTIL 1952, AND BY THEN, SPEARFISHERMEN HAD ALREADY READ IN<i> POPULAR SCIENCE</i> HOW TO BUILD THEIR OWN. >> Morgan: WE BUILT A COUPLE OF OUR OWN LUNGS-- ARTIFICIAL BREATHING APPARATUS-- FROM WORLD WAR II BOMBER OXYGEN KITS. WE'D CONVERT THEM OVER AND MAKE THEM WORK UNDERWATER, BUT THEY WERE ALWAYS HAPHAZARD AT BEST, AND, UH, GOOD THING WE KNEW HOW TO HOLD OUR BREATH AND SWIM AND THAT SORT OF THING. >> IF THAT SURF IS TOO HIGH FOR YOU, HAVE TO MAKE A JUDGMENT FACTOR AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU CAN HANDLE THAT PARTICULAR SURF. >> Narrator: BUT COUSTEAU'S AQUA-LUNG FINALLY DID BECOME AVAILABLE, IT WAS A PIECE OF GEAR THAT REALLY WORKED. YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT. YOU COULD GO DIVING THREE OR FOUR TIMES A DAY AND IT WORKED EVERY TIME, AND SINGLE-HANDEDLY, IT STARTED A CRAZE. >> Marx: PEOPLE WOULD DO ANYTHING-- THEY'D DIVE IN QUARRIES AND RIVERS, ANYTHING JUST TO BE IN THE WATER. SO A LOT OF PEOPLE DOVE FOR YEARS BEFORE THEY EVER WENT TO THE SEA OR WENT TO THE CARIBBEAN. >> Narrator: ONCE THEY STRAPPED ON AN AQUA-LUNG, DIVERS DID THE DARNDEST THINGS. FIRST, THE CLUBS FORMED: BOTTOM SCRATCHERS, SEA FOOLS, MUD SHARKS-- HUNDREDS OF THEM, AND THEY CAVORTED UNDERWATER, PLAYING GAMES AND SUBMERGING THEMSELVES IN THE GIDDY NEW EXCITEMENT OF THEIR NEW UNDERWATER PLAYGROUND. SOME GAVE UP THEIR WEAPONS FOR A CAMERA, PREFERRING TO SHOOT FISH WITH FILM INSTEAD OF A SPEARGUN, AND OTHERS, WHO LIVED HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM THE CLOSEST OCEAN, BRAVED THE COLD AND DOVE IN ICY LAKES. AND IF THE FRIGID PLEASURES OF ICE DIVING WEREN'T DANGEROUS ENOUGH, SCUBA DIVERS DISCOVERED ANOTHER PURSUIT THAT WAS DOWNRIGHT DEADLY. THEY BEGAN TO EXPLORE UNDERWATER CAVES, AND SOME NEVER RETURNED. CAVE DIVING WAS THE MOST DANGEROUS ASPECT OF THE NEW SPORT. IT HAS PROBABLY KILLED MORE DIVERS THAN ALL THE REST OF DIVING COMBINED. BUT THERE WERE THOSE WHO HAD A MORE SERIOUS INTEREST IN THE NEW AQUA-LUNG: SCIENTISTS. UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND MARINE BIOLOGISTS WERE NOW PUTTING ON A TANK AND TAKING THEIR LABORATORIES UNDERWATER. AS IT WAS SAID, "IT WAS EASIER TO TURN A SCIENTIST INTO A DIVER THAN A DIVER INTO A SCIENTIST." >> Earle: IT WAS SUCH... IT WAS SUCH A JOY FOR ME TO SEE WITH MY OWN EYES. I'VE SEEN THOUSANDS OF PICKLED FISH IN MUSEUMS. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE ACTUALLY HAVING<i> THEM</i> COME TO LOOK AT<i> YOU.</i> >> Narrator: CELEBRATED OCEANOGRAPHER AND SCIENTIST DR. SYLVIA EARLE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MARINE BIOLOGISTS TO USE SCUBA IN HER STUDIES. BEFORE THE AQUA-LUNG, SHE HAD TO USE DREDGING EQUIPMENT OR NETS TO FIND AND STUDY HER SPECIMENS. >> Earle: JUST IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE AN ALIEN UP IN THE SKY DRAGGING A NET THROUGH THE STREETS, CATCHING PEDESTRIANS, CHUNKS OF SHRUBBERY, BITS OF THIS, BITS OF THAT. SQUISH IT ALL TOGETHER AND DUMP IT OUT ON THE DECK OF YOUR SHIP UP IN THE SKY AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE. IMAGINE TAKING THE CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES USING A NET. >> Narrator: BUT SCIENTISTS WEREN'T CONTENT WITH THEIR NEWFOUND ABILITY TO STUDY THE SEA. NOW THEY WANTED TO STAY DOWN LONGER AND GO MUCH DEEPER, AND SO, A NEW BREED OF DIVER WAS BORN, INCLUDING A FAMOUS ASTRONAUT WHO TURNED AQUANAUT TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE UNDERWATER. "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" WILL RETURN ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> >> Narrator: WE NOW RETURN TO "SCUBA AND DEEP-SEA DIVING" ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> IT WAS AUGUST OF 1938. AFTER 11 YEARS OF RESEARCH, A HARD-HAT DIVER BRAVELY ATTEMPTED A NEW WORLD RECORD: A 500-FOOT DIVE, BUT AS HE DESCENDED, HE DIDN'T BREATHE AIR. HE TRIED THE NAVY'S NEW RECIPE. OXYGEN AND NITROGEN WAS REPLACED WITH OXYGEN AND HELIUM. >> Sailor: ON THE BOTTOM, 500 FEET. HOW DO YOU FEEL? >> Diver: I'M GOOD. >> Sailor: OKAY. >> Narrator: THE 500-FOOT PLUNGE WAS A TOTAL SUCCESS AND A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE EXPLORATION OF THE DEEP. UNTIL THEN, DIVERS COULD NOT DESCEND MUCH PAST 200 FEET WITHOUT SUFFERING A STRANGE PHENOMENA CALLED NITROGEN NARCOSIS OR "RAPTURE OF THE DEEP." THE HIGH CONCENTRATION OF NITROGEN IN THEIR BODIES HAD A NARCOTIC EFFECT THAT RENDERED SOME SENSELESS TO DANGER. >> Morgan: EVERYBODY'S DIFFERENT, AND SOME INDIVIDUALS CAN'T THINK VERY CLEARLY AT 170 FEET. SOME CAN THINK CLEAR AS A BELL DOWN TO 220, BUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 150 AND 220, UH, EVERYBODY GETS KIND OF STUPID. >> Narrator: AMERICA LED IN THE HELIUM STUDIES, SINCE IT HAD THE ONLY HELIUM SUPPLY IN THE WORLD, BUT IT WAS LIMITED AND TIGHTLY CONTROLLED, AND SCIENTISTS WORRIED THEY'D RUN OUT. >> Art Bachrach: THERE WERE TIMES WHEN WE WERE WATCHING HELIUM SUPPLIES DWINDLING WHERE WE BEGAN TO PANIC WHEN WE SAW BALLOONS AT PARTIES WITH HELIUM, THINKING, "MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE SAVED THAT." >> Narrator: BUT THE DISCOVERY OF THE OXYGEN-HELIUM COCKTAIL DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF THE BENDS. ALTHOUGH DIVERS COULD NOW GO DOWN TO 200 FEET WITHOUT BECOMING INTOXICATED, THEY STILL COULDN'T STAY DOWN LONG WITHOUT TEDIOUS AND TIME-CONSUMING DECOMPRESSION. THEN NAVY SURGEON GEORGE BOND DISCOVERED SATURATION. AFTER A SEVEN-YEAR STUDY, HE LEARNED THAT ONCE A DIVER'S BODY ABSORBED ALL THE NITROGEN OR HELIUM IT COULD, THEN DECOMPRESSION TIME NO LONGER INCREASED. IT MADE NO DIFFERENCE IF THE DIVER STAYED DOWN A DAY, A WEEK, OR A MONTH. SO NOW, ALL A DIVER NEEDED WAS AN UNDERWATER HOUSE, PRESSURIZED TO HIS DEPTH, AND HE COULD LIVE UNDERWATER, AND THAT'S JUST WHAT THE SEALABS BECAME. IN THE MID-1960s, THE U.S. NAVY BUILT THREE UNDERWATER HABITATS FOR A NEW BREED OF DIVER CALLED THE AQUANAUTS. THE MOST FAMOUS-- ASTRONAUT SCOTT CARPENTER. IN SEALAB II, CARPENTER AND HIS TEAM OF TEN MEN MOVED TO THEIR CIGAR-SHAPED HOME 205 FEET DOWN, OFF THE COAST OF LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA. LIVING THERE FOR 45 DAYS, THEY COOKED THEIR OWN FOOD, UNDERWENT TESTS AND HAD DAILY CHORES ON THE OCEAN BOTTOM. >> Bachrach: THEY DESCRIBED THEIR WORKING RELATIONSHIP AS "WALKING ON EGGS." THEY WERE DOWN THERE, THEY COULDN'T GET OUT, SO THEY WERE VERY, VERY CAREFUL NOT TO IRRITATE EACH OTHER. >> Narrator: ANOTHER PROBLEM SEALAB HAD TO CONTEND WITH WAS WHAT DOCTORS LAUGHINGLY CALLED "SWAHELIUM." IF YOU BREATHE HELIUM, YOU SOUND LIKE DONALD DUCK, AND THE NAVY HAD TO INVENT AN UNSCRAMBLER TO DECIPHER IT. >> Sailor: ANDERSON, MAN THE HELIUM UNSCRAMBLER AND GIVE ME SOME TEST PHRASES. >> Anderson: THIS IS SEALAB, MANNED AND READY. >> Sailor: ARE YOU ON? LET'S HAVE THE TEST PHRASES NOW, PLEASE. (<i> Anderson talks in Swahelium</i> ) >> Narrator: SO SUCCESSFUL WAS SEALAB II, THAT IN 1970, THE GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED A NEW UNDERWATER HABITAT PROGRAM, TEKTITE II, BUT THIS ONE STARTED A CONTROVERSY. AND WHEN APPLICATIONS CAME IN FROM VOLUNTEERS, THE TEKTITE II LEADERS HAD A PROBLEM. MANY OF THE CANDIDATES WERE WOMEN, AND HOW WOULD WOMEN LIVE WITH MEN UNDERWATER? >> Earle: THEY HAD TO DECIDE: WILL THERE OR WILL THERE NOT BE WOMEN INCLUDED? AND THE INITIAL REACTION WAS NOT ONLY "NO," IT WAS "HELL, NO!" >> Narrator: BUT DR. JIM MILLER, HEAD OF THE PROGRAM, FINALLY GAVE IN, WITH THE DECISION THAT THE WOMEN WOULD HAVE TO LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT THE MEN. AND SO, FIVE WOMEN, INCLUDING SYLVIA EARLE, WERE CHOSEN TO GO, AND HEADED FOR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. THE FEMALE SCIENTISTS WERE TO PERFORM THE SAME JOBS AS THE MEN, BUT SOME OF THE PRESS, AT LEAST, NEVER SAW THEM AS EQUALS. >> Earle: WE WERE RARELY CALLED "AQUANAUTS." WE WERE CALLED "THE AQUABELLES," WE WERE CALLED "AQUABABES," "AQUAMAIDS," "AQUACHICKS"-- EVEN "AQUANAUGHTIES." I LOVED THAT ONE. >> Narrator: BUT TEKTITE II, AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE SEALAB PROJECTS NOT ONLY PROVED THAT MEN AND WOMEN COULD LIVE IN THE DEEP, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY COULD WORK THERE, TOO, AND, USING THIS KNOWLEDGE, THE OIL INDUSTRY BEGAN TO CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS OF ITS OWN: TO DRILL FOR A NEW FORTUNE. RUNNING ON EMPTY-- THE EARLY 1970s SAW US WAITING IN LONG LINES FOR SHORT SUPPLIES OF GASOLINE. WITH THE MIDEAST OIL EMBARGO STARTING IN 1973, AMERICA WAS JUST LEARNING HOW IMPORTANT A ROLE ENERGY PLAYED IN THE GOOD LIFE. IMMEDIATELY, OIL COMPANIES RACED TO BEGIN DRILLING IN THE OPEN SEAS. THEY WANTED THOUSANDS OF DIVERS, AND THEY WANTED THEM NOW, AND THEY WANTED THEM TO DIVE AS DEEP AS THEY NEEDED. >> Phil Nuytten: SHEER, UNADULTERATED GREED. THEY WERE SAYING, "WE'RE GOING INTO 700 FEET OF WATER. IF YOU CAN'T GO THERE, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE THE CONTRACT, AND WE'LL USE SOMETHING ELSE." WE SAID, "NO, NO, WE'LL GO. WE'LL BE THERE." AND WE HAD NO IDEA HOW THE HELL WE WERE GOING TO DO IT. THE GUYS WERE FALLING LIKE FLIES. IN THE NORTH SEA, FOR INSTANCE, IN ONE SEASON, THERE WERE, GOSH, A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF GUYS THAT BIT THE DUST. >> Narrator: OFFSHORE OIL RIGS CREATED A GOLDEN AGE OF COMMERCIAL DIVING. HAVING ALREADY HELPED BUILD OUR NATION'S PORTS AND HARBORS AND BRIDGES AND DAMS, AND REPAIR AND SALVAGE OUR SHIPS, HARD-HAT DIVERS WERE NOW TO BECOME UNDERWATER ENGINEERS. THEY WERE ALREADY THE SAFEST DIVERS IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF A CONTINUOUS AIR SUPPLY AND COMMUNICATION FROM THE SURFACE, BUT NOW THEY WERE TO BECOME THE RICHEST. THESE WERE MEN WHO WERE PAID BY THE FOOT, DEPENDING ON HOW DEEP THEY WENT, AND THEY WERE MEN WHO WERE WILLING TO SPEND LONG AND SEEMINGLY ENDLESS IDLE DAYS IN DECOMPRESSION CHAMBERS. OF COURSE, THERE WAS ONE THING THAT MADE IT WORTHWHILE. >> Nuytten: THE MONEY WAS OBSCENE-- THERE'S NO OTHER WORD FOR IT-- ABSOLUTELY OBSCENE. UH, WE WERE MAKING MONEY HAND OVER FIST. >> Narrator: DURING THE OIL RUSH, YOU COULD MAKE $2,500 A DAY. A MAN COULD BUY A HOUSE IN A MONTH, BUT IT WAS HARSH, RUGGED WORK. >> Barsky: THE ONLY TIME YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO IN THE WATER IS MAYBE IF YOU'RE GOING TO GET KILLED. IF-IF THERE'S ANY WAY OF GETTING THE JOB DONE, THEY EXPECT YOU TO GET IN THE WATER AND DO THE WORK. >> Narrator: BUT THE OIL INDUSTRY DIDN'T LIKE PAYING ROCK STAR WAGES, AND THEY'D RATHER NOT RISK LIVES TO GO DEEP. THEY JUST HAD TO FIND A NEW WAY TO TEND THEIR RIGS. THEY TURNED TO POP PERESS AND HIS WALKING REFRIGERATOR, USHERING IN THE AGE OF THE ONE-ATMOSPHERE SUIT. <i> MODERN MARVELS</i> WILL RETURN. TO<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AQUANAUT'S "JIM" SUIT AND AN ASTRONAUT'S SUIT. THEY HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON-- JUST LIKE THE WORLDS THEY FLY AND SWIM IN. IN FACT, TRAINING FOR WORK IN OUTER SPACE IS SO SIMILAR TO WORK IN INNER SPACE, THAT YOU CANNOT BE AN ASTRONAUT UNLESS YOU FIRST BECOME A SCUBA DIVER. >>Nuytten: THE ASTRONAUTS ALL WORK IN ZERO GRAVITY SIMULATORS, WHICH ARE NOTHING MORE THAN WATER-FILLED TANKS, AND THEY'RE SURROUNDED BY SCUBA DIVERS AND THEY GO THROUGH THEIR PACES. SO WHETHER IT'S ON THE BOTTOM OR WHETHER IT'S IN SPACE MAKES VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE. THE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS, THE TETHERS, THE UMBILICAL, THE COMMUNICATION-- ALL OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT GOES INTO IT IS REMARKABLE SIMILAR. >> Narrator: BUT THIS SPACE AGE LOOKING SUIT IS FOR UNDERWATER WORK ONLY-- DEEP UNDERWATER WORK, AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT'S ACTUALLY 70 YEARS OLD, AND ITS LONG HISTORY GOES BACK TO 1715, TO A MAN AND HIS BARREL. WHEN ENGLISHMAN JOHN LETHBRIDGE OBTAINED HIS PATENT, HE CALLED HIS INVENTION A "DIVING MACHINE," BUT IT WAS REALLY A WOODEN BARREL-- A BARREL WITH ARMHOLES AND A SIGHT GLASS THAT HAD AIR PUMPED DOWN TO IT WITH BELLOWS. CRUDE, BUT A SUCCESS. THAT INVENTION WAS THE FIRST ATMOSPHERIC DIVING SUIT, AND IT WOULDN'T BE UNTIL THE 1920s THAT THE IDEA WOULD AGAIN RESURFACE, AND THIS TIME IN ARMOR. THE IDEA WAS TO BUILD A SUIT SO STRONG THAT IT COULD WITHSTAND GREAT PRESSURE, SO THE DIVER INSIDE COULD BREATHE AT NORMAL SURFACE AIR-- NO BENDS, NO DECOMPRESSION-- BUT THEY WERE HEAVY, BULKY AND EXPENSIVE. AND IT WASN'T UNTIL JOSEPH "POP" PERESS INVENTED HIS THAT THE DREAM OF DEEP DIVING WAS REALIZED. RAISED IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT LIVING IN ENGLAND, POP INVENTED HIS DEEP DIVING ARMOR OUT OF MAGNESIUM WITH ARTICULATED JOINTS FILLED WITH OIL. IT PERFORMED PERFECTLY, BUT NOBODY WANTED IT, NOT EVEN THE NAVY. BUT IT DID MAKE SOME HEADLINES. IN THE EARLY 1930s, PERESS' ASSISTANT JIM JARRET WORE THE ATMOSPHERIC SUIT FOR ITS SECOND DEEP WATER DIVE TO LOCATE THE SUNKEN SHIP<i> LUSITANIA</i> OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND. BUT AFTER THE DIVE, THE SUIT WAS NICKNAMED "JIM" AND THEN RETIRED, OR SO POP THOUGHT. 30 YEARS LATER, DEEP WATER OIL EXPLOITATION IN THE NORTH SEA WAS BOOMING, AND THE RACE WAS ON TO DEVELOP A WORKING ATMOSPHERIC SUIT. TWO ENGINEERS HEARD ABOUT POP PERESS IN AN ENGLISH PUB, LOOKED HIM UP AND ASKED ABOUT JIM. >> Nuytten: THEY FOUND THE SUIT AND IT WAS ACTUALLY IN A CHICKEN COOP AND COVERED WITH CHICKEN MANURE, OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, AND UH, STRAW, ETCETERA, AND IT WAS IN A BIG GRAY BOX AND ON THE SIDE OF THE BOX IT SAID<i> "LUSITANIA</i> DIVING ENGINE." SO, BOY, TALK ABOUT GOING BACK IN HISTORY. >> Narrator: THE SUIT WAS DUSTED OFF AND TESTED IN A TANK BY THE 80-YEAR-OLD PERESS HIMSELF. IT TOOK THREE HOURS TO GET THE SUIT OFF OF POP, BUT IT WORKED, AND AFTER MODIFICATIONS, BY THE 1980s, IT WAS USED AROUND THE WORLD AND SPAWNED A NEW TECHNOLOGY OF ONE ATMOSPHERE DIVING. BUT EVEN JIM WASN'T ENOUGH. OIL WORKERS WANTED A BETTER, LIGHTER, MORE MOBILE SUIT THAN JIM COULD EVER OFFER. AND SO THE "WASP" WAS INVENTED. LAUGHINGLY CALLED "THE MEAT IN A CAN," THE WASP WAS REALLY A FLYING JIM SUIT WITH THRUSTERS ON IT. ALTHOUGH HELPFUL, IT HAD ITS LIMITATIONS. IT HAD A TETHER, IT WASN'T FREE SWIMMING AND THE ARMS WERE VERY LIMITED IN MOVEMENT. SO ITS INVENTOR, PHIL NUYTTEN, WENT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. >> Nuytten: IT TOOK ME FIVE YEARS OF KNUCKLE-BRUISING WORK AND, YOU KNOW, TEST AFTER TEST, AND THE ONLY REASON THAT I KEPT UP WITH IT WAS BECAUSE I'D INVESTED SO MUCH MONEY IN IT AND I SHOT MY MOUTH OFF SO MUCH THAT I WAS EMBARRASSED NOT TO SUCCEED. >> Narrator: AND SO THE "NEWT" SUIT WAS MADE. IT COULD DIVE DOWN TO 2,000 FEET, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT HAD FULL ARTICULATION. BUT EVEN A NEWT SUIT CAN'T GO DOWN 12,640 FEET DEEP WHERE THE<i> TITANIC</i> RESTS IN ITS WATERY GRAVE. THE CRUSHING POWER OF WATER AT THAT DEPTH IS STAGGERING, AND THE ONLY HUMAN WAY POSSIBLE TO CAPTURE ITS IMAGES IS NOT WITH A HUMAN. FILMMAKERS INSIDE RUSSIAN SUBMARINES AND R.O.V.s-- REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLES, EQUIPPED WITH CAMERAS, CAPTURED THESE ASTONISHING IMAGES. FROM WITHIN THE SUBS, OPERATORS WERE ABLE TO FOCUS, ZOOM, PAN AND TILT THE R.O.V. CAMERAS AND VENTURE FURTHER INSIDE THE HEART OF THE<i> TITANIC</i> THAN EVER POSSIBLE BEFORE. AND R.O.V.s HAVE ALSO REPLACED SOME OF THE COMMERCIAL DIVERS' WORK ON OIL RIGS, AND ON SHIPWRECKS HIDING FORTUNES. THEY'RE CHEAPER, THEY CAN WORK 24 HOURS A DAY, AND THEY'RE EASY TO USE. >> Marx: I MEAN, IF YOU COULD PLAY NINTENDO-- THAT'S WHAT AN R.O.V. IS. YOU PUT IT IN THE WATER, AND YOU JUST SIT THERE WATCHING THE TELEVISION CAMERA AND TELLING IT WHERE TO GO. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF DRIVING IT UP AND DOWN SIDEWAYS AND PRESSING A BUTTON. >> Narrator: BUT THE REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLES HAVEN'T REPLACED HUMANS IN THE WATER. R.O.V.s CAN FIND PROBLEMS ON AN UNDERWATER OIL RIG, BUT OFTEN IT'S THE DIVER WHO HAS TO FIX IT. BUT WITH ALL OF OUR UNDERWATER TOOLS, WE STILL HAVEN'T SOLVED OUR PROBLEM OF HOW TO GO DEEPER AND STAY LONGER ALTHOUGH ALLIANCE PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION MAY HAVE COME THE CLOSEST TO FINDING AN ANSWER WITH THEIR MIXTURE CALLED "LIQUIVENT." THIS COMPANY, ALONG WITH SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES BEGAN RESEARCH TO SEE IF MAN COULD BREATHE LIQUID. AFTER ALL, FETUSES BREATHE FLUID FOR NINE MONTHS BEFORE BIRTH. AND SOME TANTALIZING EXPERIMENTS USED MICE AND DOGS AND EVEN A MAN. >> Nuytten: THEY ACTUALLY CUFFED OFF ONE LUNG AND FILLED IT WITH AN OXYGENATED FLUOROCARBON, AND THEN SEALED OFF THE OTHER LUNG SO HE WAS BREATHING ON THE WET LUNG, AND HE SAID IT WAS VERY STRANGE. IT ACTUALLY PULLED. HE COULD FEEL... SO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE HE WAS AWARE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING IN HIS CHEST, YOU KNOW, ALIVE, AND HE COULD ACTUALLY FEEL IT AS HE MOVED-- FEEL THIS THING PULLING AND TWISTING. IT WAS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. >> Narrator: AT THE SAME TIME, AMERICAN SCIENTISTS WERE WORKING ON A MECHANICAL GILL THAT WOULD EXTRACT OXYGEN FROM WATER, BUT THE JAPANESE SAY THEY NOW HAVE A VERSION THAT IN TEN YEARS WILL BE WORN LIKE AN AQUA-LUNG AND ALLOW YOU TO DIVE FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIKE IN SHALLOW WATER. HERE IN THE UNITED STATES MANUFACTURERS RECENTLY BROUGHT BACK THE REBREATHER. THIS TIME, INSTEAD OF USING PURE OXYGEN, IT CONTAINS A SPECIAL MIXTURE OF OXYGEN AND NITROGEN, SO DIVERS CAN GO DOWN DEEPER THAN 30 FEET AND STAY DOWN LONGER WITH NO BUBBLES. BUT IT ISN'T THE ANSWER TO THE ABYSS. IN THE 1960s, MANY BEGAN TO PLAN FOR UNDERWATER COLONIES, BUT THEY WERE NEVER BUILT. WE DIDN'T KNOW THEN ABOUT ALL THE DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES AND EXPENSE OF GOING AND STAYING DOWN DEEP. BUT TODAY MANY AGAIN BELIEVE THOSE UNDERWATER CITIES AREN'T FAR AWAY. >> Nuytten: THERE WILL BE COLONIES, CITIES UNDER THE SEA WHERE YOU'LL TALK ABOUT A TRIP TO THE SURFACE THE SAME WAY WE NOW TALK ABOUT... WELL, WE WILL TALK SOON ABOUT A TRIP INTO SPACE. BECAUSE IT WOULD BE SUCH AN EXCITING THING TO GO AND VISIT, YOU KNOW, THE LAND WHERE WE CAME FROM AS OPPOSED TO THE LAND WHERE WE LIVE. >> Narrator: SOME OF US MAY LIVE TO SEE THESE VISIONS OF A FUTURE WORLD COME TRUE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE MUST CONTINUE TO USE OUR UNDERWATER BREATHING TOOLS TO FOLLOW THAT SIREN SONG, THAT ANCIENT LURE OF THE SEA, DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE UNDERWATER WORLD WE'VE JUST BEGUN TO EXPLORE. >> Earle: WHAT'S STOPPING US? NOTHING BUT OUR OWN IMAGINATION; NOTHING BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT WE NEED TO DO THIS. THAT IT'S OUR SURVIVAL THAT'S AT RISK IF WE DON'T DO THIS. WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE OCEAN.
