has this always been true? have I always not known it?

[psocoptera]

So apparently people have been to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Once. In 1960. Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard, in the Trieste.

What?

This feels like a crazy thing to have somehow not known. Like not knowing there were moon landings, or that people have made it to the South Pole, or the top of Everest, or broken the sound barrier. I'm not saying I expect to be familiar with every cool thing humanity has done, obviously, but, I don't know, cultural literacy, Armstrong and Aldrin, Amundsen, Hillary, Yeager, these are familiar names, shouldn't Walsh and Piccard ring a bell in the same way? Did I know about this at some point and then somehow just forget? (What else have I forgotten about?)

Anyways, this is a nifty infographic, and if you scroll all the way to the bottom, Don Walsh is down there to surprise and confuse you, if you are me.

Comments

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

that *is* a nifty graphic. Thinking about all that depth gives me the willies...

I did know that people had gone to the marianas trench once but it's not something I think about much.

[dphilli1.livejournal.com]

I think I learned about the dive in elementary school. If not, then def during middle school

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

I had heard of Piccard and Walsh and the Trieste before; what surprised me on watching the video interview was that they had only gone down once, for twenty minutes, and that no one had been back since. I think I had always just assumed that there had been a series of dives, much like the moon missions.

[gannet.livejournal.com]

I knew about it, but only because of T's fascination with deep sea submersibles. (interesting engineering, exploring what seems like alien landscapes, discovering fascinating sea creatures, and looking at underwater vents and volcanoes. What's not to geek out about?)

[gannet.livejournal.com]

And isn't that a great infographic?

If you're interested in things like this, NOAA and MBARI have some good videos. Another good thing to look for is the submersible ALVIN.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Okay, how have I heard of ALVIN but not the Trieste? (Answer: the oceanography-museum side of the aquarium at Scripps, back when my dad working at Scripps meant we could more or less wander in any time for free. I was always kind of fascinated by FLIP, which is a boat that stands itself on end for research purposes. (I never saw it live or anything, I just remember the museum display.)) ... dang, you'd *really* think I would have had to come across mention of the Trieste at some point too. But it's so weird to think I just forgot about it to the extent that it was surprising to re-learn.

[gannet.livejournal.com]

I can see how that would be disconcerting!

[sheepboyofchaos.livejournal.com]

I remember being surprised that the dive was made so long ago.

[amyprime.livejournal.com]

Now it's three: http://news.yahoo.com/james-cameron-begins-dive-deepest-spot-earth-201353959.html

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Thanks! I will watch this story with interest!