Diving Bell

Philadelphia Made

I’m curious how many of you know what a “diving bell” is?  Have you ever seen one while walking along the beach or while taking a boat tour? I thought I had numerous times even in movies like “Finding Nemo”.  But in reality, what I thought turned out to be a ” harbor bell buoy”. Two completely different things. Almost always I would have pictured a flock of seagulls around one or a seal sunbathing.  

Sunbathing Seal

It turns out that the purpose of a diving bell is to save lives much as a buoy is floating in the water.  While walking through a park in Delaware City the structure pictured below caught my attention. Not the typical structure I’ve ever seen so I had to find out more. I learned that a diving bell is used as an air chamber for divers, those working underwater to make repairs.

 

 I don’t know of any of my ancestors who would have experience with one. I’m not fond of close quarters so this would be difficult for me. Diving bells aren’t new there are even sketches by Leonardo da Vinci. I remember an experiment my dad shared with me, capturing air in a cup before submerging it into a sink of water. When you would work to pull it up you feel of pull then a pop as the air is released when it meets the surface.