Did you know 95% of the ocean is still unexplored? It’s true! We know more about outer space than about what’s lurking under the sea. In Issue 7 | Into the Deep, we uncovered the incredible stories behind some of history’s greatest ocean explorers.
Today is World Ocean Day! To celebrate, we’re sharing 5 inventions that changed ocean exploration.
1. The Snorkel
Chances are you’ve tried using a snorkel—whether it's in the ocean, a pool, or even your bathtub. Snorkels help people breathe while keeping their faces in the water. This invention has a long history, dating back to ancient Greece and Persia. Stories tell of soldiers using hollow reeds to breathe while they swam undetected beneath the ocean waves.
Over 500 years ago, the famous artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci came up with a device that looks similar to the snorkels you see today. He attached a hollow tube to a leather diver’s helmet. It wasn’t until the 1900s that the modern snorkel was invented and paired with the diving mask.
A page from the Codex Arundel, featuring one of da Vinci’s sketches of a diving apparatus. Image: Wikipedia.
2. The Diving Bell
This underwater chamber is one of the earliest devices used for ocean exploration. A diving bell is a container that’s big enough to hold people. When the bell is lowered into the ocean, the air gets trapped inside, which allows people to breathe underwater.
Some of the earliest diving bells date back over a thousand years–historians have found descriptions of diving bells in ancient Greek texts. One well-known legend describes how the conqueror Alexander the Great used a glass diving bell to explore the ocean. Today, diving bells are used to transport divers, explore shipwrecks, and carry out underwater work.
Cross-section view of the diving bell designed by Edmond Halley (1656-1742).
3. The Submarine
Submarines have allowed scientists to explore deeper than ever before. And these underwater ships are older than you think. In 1620, the Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel built the first functional submarine. It was a rowboat covered in leather. Just like today’s submarines, Drebbel’s boat could dive into the water and rise to the top. How did he do this? He used animal bladders! When the bladders were filled with water, the submarine sank below the water, and when the water was squeezed out of the bladders, the submarine rose back to the surface. Drebbel’s amazing submarine could carry 16 people and stay underwater for three hours. Not bad for 400 years ago!
A recreation of Drebbel’s submarine. Image: Wikipedia.
4. The Diving Suit
The first diving suits date back to the 1700s, although they looked very different from the suits you see today. In the 1710s, the English inventor John Lethbridge made a wooden barrel with two holes for arms and a window on the front to look outside.
Later, diving suits were made of leather or metal and had a separate helmet with a glass window. Workers wore these suits to make repairs to ships, clean off seaweed, or find lost anchors. As diving suits improved, people began using them to explore shipwrecks hidden beneath the water—hoping to find buried treasure. Divers needed suits that protected them from the increasing water pressure as they dived deeper.
A drawing of Lethbridge’s diving machine.
5. The Aqua-Lung
For centuries, divers struggled to find a safe way to breathe underwater. During World War II, two Frenchmen finally found a reliable solution. In 1943, engineer Émile Gagnan and explorer Jacques Cousteau created the Aqua-Lung. With this equipment, divers could swim freely underwater for long periods of time. The Aqua Lung made it easier and safer to explore the ocean than ever before, and with that, modern scuba diving was born.
Explorer Jacques Cousteau and US Navy officers study a navigational chart. Image: National Archives.
Want to learn more about Jacques Cousteau and the history of ocean exploration? Check out our kids magazine, Issue | Into the Deep. There is still so much ocean left to explore. Who knows, maybe YOU will make the next great discovery!
