[Orange1998]

What were they thinking!

[DesertDreamer]

So close to a Darwin award. Good thing he had a spotter. What were they thinking?!!!!

[bayourod]

He should have used a wet vacuum.

[libstripper]

He didn't know anything about water pressure vs. air pressure. As he descended into the lake the water pressure increased, squeezing the air out of his lungs and up thorugh the hose. Trying to breathe against that kind water pressure is like trying to breathe against a 20' python coiled around you that's trying to squeeze you to death. Can't be done.

[pageonetoo]

What were they thinking!

What were they drinking!

[GoLightly]

Thinking? Darwin award stuff.

The garden hose prolly slipped outta his mouth, cuz he was already losing it from lack of oxygen to his brain.

[cripplecreek]

Tried that one myself as a teen (minus the anchor) What I discovered was that it's not quite as simple as it sounds.

For starters you have to keep the hose kinked off when you aren't inhaling. When you exhale you must exhale into the water. (as your body tries to rise to the surface) Inhaling presents other problems. The pressure on your lungs makes it hard to inhale. + if you get very deep, your average garden hose tends to collapse under the weight of the water.

What I learned was that SCUBA lessons are the best option.

[Yardstick]

Levelling town in a DIY armored bulldozer, searching for keys at the bottom of a lakebed with a garden hose snorkel -- it appears the 17-year testosterone cycle is at its apogee.

I've think I've got some lumber laying around unused. Maybe I'll build a catapult or something.

[G.Mason]

Methinks the Egyptians tried that using reeds. Killed the slaves right off, and they quit trying that one.

Give the guy a hystericalistory book.

[The Great RJ]

If he were looking for a human boat anchor I could nominate a lot of people.

[supercat]

Another problem besides the depth would be the necessity of using a one-way valve. If he tried to inhale and exhale through the same hose, CO2 would take him out pretty quickly.

[KSCITYBOY]

We take our keys very seriously out here. I like the guys "can do" attitude, the anchor may have been a little much though.

[ApplegateRanch]

About 45 years ago, when I was in 8th grade, I pulled a 20-ish guy out of Shasta Lake, doing the same thing...ALONE. In his case, it was his father's fishing rod, 'borrowed' without asking. He had accidentally let go while casting from shore, and watched it sail into the drink.

That brainiac had fastened the end of the hose to a block of wood. Waves from a passing boat's wake flipped it over, and filled his hose with water.

After pulling him out & performing artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth wasn't yet taught at that time) he insisted on going back in again.

After dragging him out a SECOND time, my ride & I had to leave. We hoped we had argued him out of making a third attempt without us there.

Water pressure builds fast, and will squeeze the hose, pinching it off, unless it has positive-pressure in it. (i.e. Attached to an air pump.) and the same water pressure, deep enough--less than one might imagine--also will keep the ribs squeezed, meaning expiration is easy, but inspiration is blocked. SCUBA was invented for a reason.

[ozzymandus]

A TV news story identified this genius as a diving instructor. I find that a little difficult to believe, but who knows?

[~Peter]

I'm not sure if this guy sucks or blows ...?

Perhaps neither and this is the root of his problem.

[AnAmericanMother]

30 feet is not difficult if you are a good free diver with a well-fitting pair of fins. I have done as much as 40 feet when I was in practice - but that was in clear water and I imagine this marina was a bit on the murky side.

That said, I have retrieved stuff in murky water (eyeglasses, a watch, an engine gasket that a friend dropped while working on his engine) from anywhere between 15 and 25 feet with no problem. You swim a pattern and search by feel.

In our BSA Lifeguard course, all of us (about 12 IIRC) practiced search patterns with repeated dives in a line in a murky lake. The far end of the line was in about 25 feet of water. No snorkels or masks (you couldn't see squat anyhow in Lake Allatoona, even if you opened your eyes. Silt City.) Nobody had trouble with repeated dives to that depth.

If your Eustachian tubes work o.k. you can use a couple dive weights tied to a rope to get down in a hurry, but you hold it in your non-dominant hand and let your above-water partner retrieve it for you or buoy your line. The buoy makes a nice marker as you swim a pattern through your search area.

THIS guy was just an idiot. He's darned lucky to be alive.

[Petronski]

At least he wasn't diving to retrieve his brand new textbook on scuba diving. That would have yielded irony in lethal doses.