Ben Propels Swimmers
May 14, 2007 - 10:10am — mikesscuba
Summer is coming. I promise. These cold days will vanish and soon we will be opening pools and swimming in swimming holes. Does anyone still swim in a swimming hole? Anyway diving season is starting and of course that means we need to get the scuba gear serviced and get remember our scuba skills. As I was cleaning off my gear last night I cam across an important piece of scuba gear called the scuba fin.
While swimming in your friend’s pool you probably remember how much faster you moved through the water when you put on a pair of fins on your feet. The fins propelled you through the water quicker and with little effort. So who is credited with creating the first swim fin?
Ben was a typical boy growing up in Boston. He lived near the water so like all growing boys he loved to swim. At the age of 11 Ben decided he wanted to move through the water easier. So he created two wooden paddles that looked like lily pads or a painters palette. He placed his thumb through holes he had placed in the paddles and voila! He moved quicker and easier through the water.
So who is Ben? Well he is none other than our favorite founding father, Benjamin Franklin. His invention of the swim fin in 1717 would help scuba divers move through the water with little effort. Thanks Ben!
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Comments
Another Tidbit
for me to share with my students. thanks so much!
Rarely told history
I'll have to tell my oldest. She just finished a bio of Benjamin Franklin. This wasn't in there! Thanks for sharing.