Nature can still compete with the Metaverse. At least that’s what the sight of thousands of Americans looking up from their screens at yesterday’s total solar eclipse seems to suggest.
Many have left home and traveled hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to reach the path of perfection. I’m glad that even in the age of 4K, I still have the urge to see things with my own eyes.
William Beebe and Otis Burton had a similar need to see, but their vision was trained in the depths of the ocean rather than in the vast expanses above.
Beebe was a zoologist and explorer who became famous for his books detailing his adventures. Burton was a young Harvard-trained engineer who made a living from a large inheritance. What these two accomplished When they joined forces, it was a tribute to the amateur inventive spirit that still survives in America, despite various forces working against it.
Burton’s funds were sufficient to complete the construction of a narrow iron sphere, which they named “Bathysphere,” but the men realized that they needed more funds to carry out the dive. To this end, they shrewdly secured support from National Geographic.
They also gained attention for their project by broadcasting their descent on the radio. However, their talent for propaganda did not undermine their courage. If there were any small leaks in the abyssosphere, high-pressure water droplets would tear them apart like bullets.
On August 15, 1934, Beebe and Baxter dived to a depth of one-half mile, setting a record that would not be broken by Baxter himself in 1949 with his new ship. Some scientists derided their showmanship as unseemly and accused them of exaggerating.
However, their critics could only mock them superficially. Unlike them, Beebe and Baxter experienced this hitherto unknown world firsthand. Traveling down a series of hoses…it was a privilege to actually see the creatures that evolved in the blue midnight darkness that has never known another day since the beginning of the ocean. ”
