1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:04,800 Speaker 1: I guess what will what's that man go? So a 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: few years ago I got to go in this incredible 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: experience to Kenya and we were off the coast. It 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: was in this place called Lamu, and I had heard 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: we could go see dolphins, and of course, you know, 6 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: I'm a huge animal lover, and even though I'm not 7 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: a great swimmer, I just had to go. So we 8 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,319 Speaker 1: go out onto the open water. It's beautiful, but the 9 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: water just starts getting rougher and rougher, and as we're 10 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: going you can see the dolphins getting closer. So I 11 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: was getting a little excited. But also the water was 12 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 1: just getting choppier, and We're on this little boat and 13 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: my stomach is turning and I'm not usually affected by seasickness, 14 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: but this was just something else. So I'm trying to 15 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,520 Speaker 1: figure out how to control it, Like do I puke? 16 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: Do I look at the horizon? Do I close my eyes? 17 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: It was really really miserad not sound pleasant. So what 18 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: did you end up doing? So I tried a little 19 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: of all of it. Like I closed my eyes, I 20 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: was trying to look at the horizon, but in the end, 21 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: the boat captain just pushed me into the water, and 22 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: he said the only way to get over it is 23 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: to get into the water, and he was absolutely right, 24 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: Like it was crazy. Luckily the water was so warm. 25 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: And then, you know, I obviously had this life jacket on, 26 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: but I'm in the middle of a school of dolphins 27 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, and I peered down and they're 28 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: just swimming and playing, and it's this incredible experience but 29 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: also totally terrifying because I don't swim well. But this 30 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: week I was reading this thing on Jack Custo and 31 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: his son was saying that even though he grew up 32 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: on the clips, so you know, with Jack Custo going 33 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: on these adventures, you still get seasick a little. And 34 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 1: he said the only way you can get over it 35 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: is to get into the sea like that, and so 36 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: I felt a little bit calmed by that, and and 37 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 1: also felt better about the sea captain just pushing me in. 38 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: But you know, I was curious after reading that. I 39 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: wanted to know more about Jack Custo's life. You know, 40 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: how did he get into exploring, did he really work 41 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: as a spy, and why did he and his crew 42 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: always wear those red hats so grab your snorkels were 43 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 1: about to dive in hei their podcast listeners, Welcome to 44 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm 45 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: joined by my good friend man Guesh Ticketer and on 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: the other side of the soundproof glass sporting this red 47 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: knit hat, of course, in honor of the undersea explorer 48 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: Jacques Cousto. That's our friends and producer Tristan McNeil. And 49 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: I feel like he finally got one spot on this time. 50 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: He did, But I actually think it might be a 51 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: tribute to Steve Zizoo from The Life Aquatic, like just 52 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: judging from all those Bill Murray posters behind Tristan. But 53 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: you know, since they both were hats like that, why 54 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: don't we just call it a duel tribute and that 55 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: way another of them will be offended. You know. I 56 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: actually read that in the original note from the movie, 57 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: Bill Murray's character was supposed to be named Steve Cousto, 58 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: and that obviously changed as the script evolved, but it 59 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: still shows how big of an influence Jacque was on 60 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: the movie. Yeah, and I mean not to nerd out 61 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: on Wes Anderson, who does happen to have my birthday, 62 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: but there's a reference to Jackusto and Rushmore, where like 63 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: Max tries to build that aquarium and and he gets 64 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,119 Speaker 1: this book from Jackusto. So obviously he's been a hero 65 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: of his for some time. Yeah, I'm curious, just I 66 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: haven't checked on your your movie rankings recently. Is Rushmore 67 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: still in your top five or so? Yeah, it's still 68 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: one of my favorite movies. That's awesome. Well, after looking 69 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: into Custo's life this past week, it's easy to see 70 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: why he would be, you know, a hero to him 71 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: and his inventions basically revolutionized undersea exploration in the mid 72 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: twentieth century. Plus you consider the work he did in 73 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: film and TV that sparked a public interest in ocean research, 74 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: and it's really been difficult to match that in the 75 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: decades since then. And that's before you get into all 76 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: the conversation of the work that he did later in life, 77 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: like you know, the time in nineteen sixty when he 78 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: helped prevent the French government from dumping nuclear waste into 79 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: the Mediterranean. See, I mean that's I feel like that's 80 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: a pretty decent accomplishment, pretty incredible. Yeah, And there was 81 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: a period there when you know, he was pretty much 82 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: everywhere you looked. Yeah, of course, and and this was 83 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: the day is when oceanographers could actually be rock stars. 84 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: But you know that said Cousteau was kind of a 85 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: tough guy to pin down. Like. He was an explorer, 86 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: he was a conservationist, he was obviously an author, a filmmaker. 87 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: He won apparently as many awards his Meryl Street. He 88 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: was a scientist, a government spy, and I mean he 89 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: was pretty much the greatest dinner guest in history. Yeah, 90 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: and obviously anybody with a resume like that is worth 91 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: taking a closer look. So today we'll talk a little 92 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: bit about Jacques's background, his legacy, including a few of 93 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: the advances he made during his many years at sea, 94 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: and then later in the episode, we'll try to figure 95 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: out if the beloved explorer is actually to blame for 96 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: a toxic strain of seaweed that happened to escape into 97 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: the world's oceans forty years ago. And the spoiler is 98 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: man he totally is. But we can get to all 99 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: of that in a little bit. I feel like we 100 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: need to back up a little bit. Where where do 101 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: you think we should start? So, at the risk of 102 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: seving hat of cessed I I do kind of want 103 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,679 Speaker 1: to start with the origin of those red knit caps 104 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: that Tristan started to show off, because one thing I 105 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: was surprised to learn this week is that divers actually 106 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: wore hats like that long before Jacques Cousteau came on 107 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: the scene. In fact, it was pretty standard attire among 108 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: hard hat divers going all the way back to the 109 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: turn of the twentieth century. Wait, you said, hard hat diver. 110 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,359 Speaker 1: What what's what's a hard hat diver? Yeah, it's a 111 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: real term. So it's the name for the old school 112 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: diving helmets that you'd see something like in uh, like 113 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: twenty leagues under the sea, and sometimes like you see 114 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: picks of like Salvador Dolly holding them too. But it's 115 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: those big, bulky spherical helmets with those little like glass viewports. 116 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: But you know, when commercial or military divers were in 117 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: their diving suits, they would wear knit hats under them 118 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: for just a little bit of extra cushioning. And the 119 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: divers were red ones specifically because they often would rest 120 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: on the docks betwe wean their dives, and obviously they 121 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: have their helmets off at this point, and the bright 122 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: has just made it easier for crane operators to keep 123 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: track of them and also to avoid smacking them in 124 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: the heads with heavy machinery. So that's that's the reason 125 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: Cousta wore a had like to avoid cranes. Yeah, I mean, 126 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: eventually wearing a red beanie just kind of became like 127 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: a diving symbol on its own, you know what. Whether 128 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: that was for like practical reasons or just out of 129 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: the sense of tradition. But one likely reason for why 130 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: the caps endured so long is that they were a 131 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: way to honor this famous British diver. His name was 132 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: William Walker. And I know we're talking about Sacasto today, 133 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,039 Speaker 1: but Walker story is pretty great and it really takes 134 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: a minute. So I'm going to go on a tangent 135 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: if you're okay about Yeah, sure of course. So back 136 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: in the early nine it was discovered that England's Winchester Cathedral, 137 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: which is one of the largest in Europe, was in 138 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: danger of collapsing. Apparently, when the builders laid the foundations 139 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: back in the eleventh century, they unknowingly built them on 140 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: top of the Pete Bog, and sadly no one realized 141 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: this until the cathedral actually started to sink. So engineers 142 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: quickly determined that the cathedral could actually be saved if 143 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: someone dove in into this bog and you know, went 144 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: to the cathedrals foundations, removed the bottom layer of pete 145 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: and then replaced it with a whole bunch of concrete. 146 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: And so this is exactly what William Walker did. He 147 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: was this experienced diver. He was hired from a nearby dockyard, 148 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: and over the course of the next six years, Walker 149 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: spent six hours a day submerged in twenty ft of 150 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: pitch black water like it was so dark he could 151 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: barely even see the foundations he was supposed to be underpinning. 152 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: But despite the setback, Walker actually got the job done. 153 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: He had a hundred fifty men top side support crew, 154 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: and all told he managed to lay a staggering twenty 155 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: five thousand bags of concrete and over a million concrete 156 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: blocks and bricks. I mean, it's stunning. And because of 157 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: that effort, the cathedral was not only saved, it actually 158 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: still stands today. That really is impressive. And I'm guessing 159 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: this whole time he was wearing the rednet hat while 160 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: he was doing this, right, that's right. And and so 161 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: Walker obviously got a amount of pressed during the ordeal, 162 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: and it's likely that other divers knew of him and 163 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: adopted the look in his honor, possibly even Jack Custo himself. 164 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: I like how you looked him back at the end there. 165 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: That was pretty pretty nicely done. All right, let's dig 166 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: into the real man of the hour, which of course 167 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: is Jacques Eves Cousto. And as you can imagine, Jacques 168 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: was born in France near Bordeaux if you happen to 169 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: be familiar with the great growing region there, and this 170 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: was in nineteen ten, and his family consisted of his father, 171 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: who was an international lawyer, and his mother, who was 172 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: the daughter of a successful wine merchant and a landowner there, 173 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: plus one older brother. So the Custo family was pretty 174 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: well off. But healthwise, Jacques was actually far from it. 175 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: So he suffered from anemia and this chronic stomach issue 176 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: that he dealt with throughout his youth. And it really 177 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: didn't slow him down that much though at least and 178 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: and Jacques learned how to swim when he was just 179 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: four years old, and he later credited his early swimming 180 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: experience as the origin for the passion of his life. 181 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: And here's what he said, about it. I was four 182 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 1: or five years old when I became interested in water. 183 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: I loved touching water. I mean, it sounds so simplistic, 184 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: but I also kind of know what he's talking about, 185 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: like the first time you experienced that sensation of floating, 186 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: or like the effort it takes to move through something 187 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 1: other than air, Like it's a surreal moment and it's 188 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 1: like nothing you felt before. Yeah, and it actually reminds 189 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: me of this other quote from Cousto that I like 190 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: a lot. There there are so many good ones, but 191 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: another one is from birth. Man carries the weight of 192 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: gravity on his shoulders. He has bolted to Earth, but 193 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: man has only to sink beneath the surface and he 194 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: is free. Buoyed by water. He can fly in any direction, up, down, 195 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: sideways by merely flipping his hand underwater. Man becomes an archangel. 196 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: So I saw this quote too, and it's from right 197 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: after he learned to swim, right. Yeah, he was four 198 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: years old and he was like, finally I'm free. I'm 199 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: an archangel now. And he was kind of a weird kid, 200 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: I guess. But back to his childhood. Let's just fast 201 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: forward to about nineteen twenty when his family lived in 202 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: New York while Mr Cousteau was practicing law, so they 203 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: lived there for about two years, and it was during 204 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: that time that Jacques learned to speak English, and he 205 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: also got plenty of practice swimming and snorkeling at this 206 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,680 Speaker 1: summer camp that he attended in Vermont, and it's actually 207 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: there that Jacques gets his very first taste of diving. 208 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 1: So the camp had launched this effort to clean up 209 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: a nearby lake, and Jock volunteered to dive to the 210 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: bottom to help clear away the debris that was there. 211 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: And once again, this early experience proved formative for Jacque, 212 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: who quickly fell in love with being underwater. You know, 213 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: despite the fact that he didn't own any goggles at 214 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: the time, and I guessing on a plus, I there 215 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: probably wasn't all that much worth seeing at the bottom 216 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: of a dirty lake, so I guess he didn't need 217 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,319 Speaker 1: those goggles. Yeah, But I mean, Jacques was completely hooked 218 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: after this experience. So when his family returned to France 219 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: and nineteen twelve, they settled in the Mediterranean city of Marseilles, 220 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: which was not far from the Italian border, and so 221 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: this allowed Jacques to continue snorkeling, and you know this 222 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: is right there along the city's coast. Also, not to 223 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 1: boggy down with too many origin stories, but this is 224 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: also around the time that Jacques bought a used movie 225 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: camera and then he proceeded to take apart and reassemble 226 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: it so he could learn how it works. So he 227 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: was a very curious kid in terms of, you know, 228 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: how things were built and everything. So we've already got 229 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: this boy who loves exploring underwater and who now has 230 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,319 Speaker 1: an interest in both mechanics and filmmaking. So, I mean, 231 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 1: his trajectory in life really seems to have taken shape 232 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: pretty early on. Actually yeah, I mean, I I think 233 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: it looks that way in hindsight, but at the time 234 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: Jack didn't seem to have his designs on a career 235 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: at sea at all, and certainly not as a researcher. 236 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: He actually got pretty terrible grades in high school and 237 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: he didn't show any interest in academics. He also acted 238 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: out a lot as a teenager, like apparently he went 239 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: on a windows smashing spree at one point, and it 240 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: wasn't long after that that his parents decided to send 241 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: him away to this super strict boarding school in northeast France. 242 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: And so did this experience straighten him up or what? Yeah, 243 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: it actually did. The school it's in, I'll say so, 244 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: and it seemed to do the trick for Jock because 245 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 1: he did well in and out of school from then on, 246 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: you know, he finished his studies, he attended to college 247 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 1: in Paris and and then in nineteen thirty he was 248 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:17,959 Speaker 1: accepted to the French Naval Academy and that's where he 249 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: trained for a couple of years before finally being commissioned 250 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: as a second lieutenant. After that, things went pretty smoothly. 251 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 1: For the next few years. Jock actually got to sail 252 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: the world as a gunnery officer. He traveled to exotic 253 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: ports in the Indian and South Pacific oceans. He captured 254 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 1: what he found there on video actually, and and then 255 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: in with a little bit of prospective under his belt, 256 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:38,680 Speaker 1: Jock finally decided on what he wanted to do for 257 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,599 Speaker 1: his life's career. He wanted to be a naval aircraft 258 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: pilot aircraft. So after all this tooling around and see, 259 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: he wanted to fly and not sail. It's it's just 260 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: seems weird, but I mean that that obviously didn't happen, 261 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: So so what changed his mind? So he had a 262 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: bit of a tragedy. Unfortunately, in nineteen thirty six, just 263 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: before his training was finished, John could borrowed his dad's 264 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: sports car to attend to friend's wedding, I guess, And 265 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: on the way back that evening, he was going a 266 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: bit too fast around one of the bends in the 267 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: road and all of a sudden, his headlights shorted out, 268 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: and you know, Custo had this massive accident. He did survive, 269 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: but not without breaking like a dozen bones and fracturing 270 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,319 Speaker 1: both arms. Um, we're still His right arm became so 271 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 1: badly infected that surgeons actually thought the best option was 272 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: to amputate it. And you know, Custo insisted that his 273 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: arm be left intact no matter how bad the infection got. 274 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: But I mean, obviously he recovered, as we know from 275 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: seeing him in later years. So so why didn't he 276 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: go back to piloting? So the damage to his arms 277 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: was just too severe, Like there was no way he 278 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: could have flown a plane in combat after that. But 279 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: the accident provided Jock the opportunity to get reacquainted with 280 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 1: the hobbies he loved as a child, so he actually 281 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: spent the next several months swimming daily in the Mediterranean 282 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: as a way to strengthen his arms and to make 283 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: the sessions more enjoyable for himself. He borrowed this early 284 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: pair of swimming goggles from a friend, and this was 285 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: honestly the first time he'd done this, and it literally 286 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 1: opened Jock's eyes to the underwater mysteries all around him, 287 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: and from then on he pretty much spent as much 288 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: time as he could just taking in the strange and 289 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: colorful plants and animals that he found on the sea floor. 290 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: When it was time to return his friends goggles, he 291 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: actually decided to craft his own pair for something he 292 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: just happened to have lying around, a pair of aircraft 293 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 1: pilot goggles. Wow, I mean it sounds like he really 294 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: turned things around after the crash. Yeah, he did, and 295 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: that new outlook extended to his love life as well. 296 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: So in ninety seven, just a year after the crash, 297 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: Jack married a woman he had met at a cocktail 298 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 1: party earlier that year. Her name was Simone Melchore, and 299 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: she and Jacques stayed together for fifty three years until 300 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 1: her death in and the couple also had two sons 301 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: together Jean, Michelle and Philippe. Both of them joined their 302 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: parents on many expeditions when they were young. Well, that 303 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: was what was so interesting, like reading about him as 304 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: a kid or seeing some of the old films and 305 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: things like that. I mean, his wife and kids pretty 306 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,960 Speaker 1: much lived with him on the trick out research ship. 307 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: And that goes back to the fifties or so, doesn't it. Yeah, 308 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: the ship was the Calypso. And it's actually a funny name, 309 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: like if you think about it, Um Custo got the 310 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: name for this c nymph character in Homer's Odyssey. So 311 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: in the story, Odysseus washes up on Calypso's island, and 312 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: when she finds him, she and chanced to adventure to 313 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: make him forget about his wife, Penelope, the one he'd 314 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: been trying to get home to, and so Calypso basically 315 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: keeps him there as a prisoner for seven years, and 316 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: the whole time Penelope is just waiting and hoping that 317 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: he finally makes it back to her someday. So it's 318 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: kind of strange to name a boat that you sail 319 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: around on with your wife and kids that same name. 320 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: I think you made one mistake though I thought Calypso 321 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: comes from Pirates of the Caribbean, the film series. We'll 322 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: correct that later. But all right, we're getting ahead of 323 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: ourselves here, because an awful lot happened between Custo's wedding 324 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: and the time the Calypsos set sail, including the invention 325 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: of the aqua lung, and of course a little something 326 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 1: we called World War two. Yeah, definitely a lot to 327 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: talk about. But let's take a quick break first and 328 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: then we'll get back into it. You're listening to part 329 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: time genius, and we're talking about French oceaneering legend and 330 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: scuba pioneer Jacques Cousteau. All right, Mago, So let's talk 331 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 1: about the war years and what those were like for Cousteau, 332 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: because I remember he was serving as a gunnery office 333 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: in the French Navy when the fighting began, and this was, 334 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: of course, in nineteen thirty nine. Yeah, and from what 335 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: I read, that was a really difficult time for Jacques 336 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: emotionally because suddenly his country was at war with the 337 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: Italians right next door. Like he'd had so many friends 338 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: over there and and now he was on board the 339 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: ships that were attacking their naval bases, and he clearly 340 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: felt conflicted, you know, wishing war in the Mediterranean against 341 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: all these people he'd grown up with, right, And so 342 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: then a year later France surrendered to Anti Germany and 343 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: the Italian occupation began. So it's a pretty rough going 344 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: there in those early years. And thankfully, once Paris felt 345 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: Custo was able to flee with his family to this 346 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,679 Speaker 1: small town near the Swiss border and they lived there 347 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,399 Speaker 1: peacefully for the next few years. And in fact, this 348 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: period of relative safety was when Jacques began to focus 349 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: on that underwater exploration and beginning to do some research, 350 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: and you know, it was really the beginning of of 351 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 1: of what would make this huge career. That's true, but 352 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,040 Speaker 1: we should also mention that it's not like Cousto was 353 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 1: just on holiday up there, because following francis surrender, he 354 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: actually joined the French resistance movement and he began working 355 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 1: against Italy's intelligence services, so basically spying on Italian troops, 356 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: kind of keeping track of their movements, that kind of thing. 357 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: And then after the war, Custo returned to work for 358 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,959 Speaker 1: the French Navy to help clear underwater mind So really 359 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: all the years of underwater excursions and scuba stuff that 360 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,360 Speaker 1: we're talking about, that's all happening in between these long 361 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:58,320 Speaker 1: running series of military operations he was involved in. So basically, 362 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 1: if you weren't impressed enough already, keep in mind that 363 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: all the ocean research and these technical breakthroughs like that 364 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: was really his side gig during World War Two exactly. 365 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 1: And it's strange to think about, but it's true. You know, 366 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: Custo is living in the heart of occupied France during 367 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: the darkest days of the war, and he somehow managed 368 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: to turn them into some of the most productive years 369 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: of his life. It is truly impressive in in particular 370 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: that ended up being this pivotal year for Custo. First, 371 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: it was in the town where he had fled. He 372 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:31,120 Speaker 1: had actually met this fellow explorer named Marshall Echok, and 373 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: together that year they made the first underwater film. It's 374 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: called eighteen meters Deep but sorry, it's the first French 375 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 1: underwater film, and and they shot at themselves in the 376 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: waters around this group of islands in the French Mediterranean. 377 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 1: And this was really the first step in what we 378 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: become this very long career of underwater filmmaking for Custo. 379 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 1: That wasn't the only life changing thing he did in 380 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: three because that's also the year that Custo co invented 381 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:56,440 Speaker 1: the aqua lung with this French engineer named Emil Gun. 382 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: All Right, so let's give a little bit of background 383 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,439 Speaker 1: on on why that's important, because it's not like the 384 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,880 Speaker 1: aqua lung was the first breathing apparatus ever made, or 385 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: of course even the first scuba gear, right m hmm, 386 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: Like the hard hat diving suits we talked about earlier 387 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,640 Speaker 1: had been around for almost hundreds of years by that time, 388 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: you know, And actually Leonardo da Vinci created designs for 389 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: a diving suit way back in the early sixteenth centuries, 390 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: so the idea of breathing underwater definitely was not new. 391 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 1: That's weird. I'm curious that, Like, do you know what 392 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 1: da Vinci had come up with. Yeah, it was basically 393 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: this um dual snorkel system, but with these really long snorkels, 394 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: Like he suggested making a boy out of cork so 395 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: that it would flow, and then attaching these long cane 396 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 1: tubes to either side, so the diver below could I 397 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,920 Speaker 1: guess breathe through the submerged ends. But you know what 398 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: the best part of Da Vinci's design is, and I 399 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: had never realized this before. It's that Da Vinci actually 400 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: came up with this bag that the diver would wear 401 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: so that he wouldn't pee straight into the water. And 402 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: you gotta love the priorities there. Yeah, I mean, you 403 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:03,199 Speaker 1: get it. But anyway back to because Stow, no that 404 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: I don't either. But you know, he's got a few 405 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: years worth of diving under his belt and he absolutely 406 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: loved it. But you know, over time he started to 407 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: get frustrated with the limitations of the diving equipment. He 408 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: couldn't travel as deep as he wanted, and he couldn't 409 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: stay under for anywhere near as long as he would 410 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: have liked. And at that point, the best thing on 411 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: the market was a self contained underwater breathing apparatus or 412 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: scuba as we call it, that had been invented about 413 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,199 Speaker 1: twenty years earlier by another Frenchman. So divers already had 414 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 1: this option of wearing air tanks on their backs instead 415 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: of like the heavy helmets with the air tubes that 416 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,399 Speaker 1: kept them kind of tethered to the surface. But the 417 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: problem was that the first scuba gear it actually lacked 418 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: any kind of regulator, so there was no way to 419 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 1: control the airflow to the driver, and that meant that 420 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: the air supply was used up super quickly because it 421 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: was being released in this constant stream, and so dive 422 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: times were just actually limited to a few minutes at 423 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 1: the best. Huh. I could see why that would definitely 424 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 1: put a damper on this experience for Cousto, especially when 425 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,720 Speaker 1: he wanted to dive as deep as he possibly could. 426 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: And it's tough to go that far when evenly got 427 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: ten or twenty minutes worth of air, right, And and 428 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: that's ultimately what Cousteau was looking to do. Like like, 429 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,160 Speaker 1: he reached out to his friend Emil, and a year earlier, 430 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: I guess in two, Emil had invented this demand regulator 431 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: to control the gas flow in engines, and Custo thought 432 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: the valve like that he had invented might also have 433 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: applications for diving. And he figured that if you could 434 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: just modify the valve a little, it could supply air 435 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,159 Speaker 1: only when a diver was breathing in, and then it 436 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: would conserve the air supply and and allowed the diver 437 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 1: to stay underwater for longer. So Cousteau took his idea 438 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 1: to his friend, and in ninety three they co invented 439 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: and patented the on demand diving regulator, or as they 440 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,439 Speaker 1: called it, aqualung. I guess this would later serve as 441 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,199 Speaker 1: an inspiration for a Jethro Tull song. But you know, 442 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 1: Cousteau was clearly thrilled about this invention, and this is 443 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: what he said at the time. Quote from this day forward, 444 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: we would swim across miles of country no man had known, 445 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: free and level with our flesh, feeling what the fish 446 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: scales know. I mean, it's kind of a great and 447 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: weird quote. At the same time, I mean, Custo definitely 448 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: put his newfound freedom to use once the war ended. 449 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 1: So you've asked forward a little bit to nineteen He 450 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: joined with these fellow divers and a group of scientists 451 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,040 Speaker 1: to explore this Roman shipwreck that was off the coast 452 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: of Tunisia. And this was actually the first underwater archaeology 453 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: operation to use scuba equipment, so it was really the 454 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 1: birth of this brand new field. And then in the 455 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: early nineteen fifties, Custo and his team decided to take 456 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: the next step and they devoted their lives full time 457 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: to underwater exploration. There was only one problem with this 458 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: is that they would need lots of money to fund 459 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,880 Speaker 1: those expeditions, and unfortunately they didn't have any money. So, 460 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,359 Speaker 1: you know, Custo started reaching out to all kinds of 461 00:22:56,359 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: French science institutions as well as like potential private donors. Well, 462 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 1: he eventually struck gold with this wealthy British philanthropist named 463 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: Thomas Lowell Guinness. Againness also happened to be a member 464 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: of Parliament, so he was connected in so many different ways. 465 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: But Custo told him about his plans to make undersea 466 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: documentaries and to introduce the world to the wonders of 467 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: the deep, and Guinness just love this idea, and so 468 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: here's what he decided to do to help. He bought 469 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 1: a decommissioned mind sweepership from the war and this was 470 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: one that had already been converted to use is like 471 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: a car ferry or something like that, and and he 472 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: leased at too Custo for a symbolic price of one 473 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: franc per year. And that's how Custo came to own 474 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 1: the world famous Calypso for one franc. That's amazing and 475 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: it's pretty awesome, except now he had this like giant, 476 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,360 Speaker 1: like hundred foot hundred fifty ft like car ferry, but 477 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,640 Speaker 1: he doesn't still seem to have much money to equip 478 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: or staff it, right, Yeah, that's true. And so the 479 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: team was was pretty much at a loss for how 480 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,120 Speaker 1: to solve that, and they pretty much tried everything they could, 481 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: Like Custo begged the government for grant money. He hassled 482 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,880 Speaker 1: manufacturers for free equipment. There was even one time when 483 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: his wife Simone sold her jewels just so they could 484 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: buy fuel to keep the ship at sea. And all 485 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 1: of this worked well enough for a while, and you know, 486 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: Custo was able to gradually restructure the ship and transform 487 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 1: it into this state of the art research vessel. You know, 488 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:25,879 Speaker 1: he go back to him being so interested in the 489 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,159 Speaker 1: mechanics and all of this, I'm sure, but was you know, 490 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: came in handy in this process and they haven't had 491 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,520 Speaker 1: this support base for diving on the ship, helipad and 492 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: the special storage for equipment like the one and two 493 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: men mini subs that he developed all by himself. But 494 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:43,159 Speaker 1: the team's biggest break after all of this, and the 495 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,160 Speaker 1: thing that really allowed him to keep financing their research 496 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,719 Speaker 1: was Cousto's media exposure, so throughout the fifties, he and 497 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 1: his fellow divers began publicizing their efforts and stories for 498 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:58,640 Speaker 1: Time and National Geographic, and Custo co authored a biographical 499 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: book for their early school but adventures. It was called 500 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: The Silent World, and it was this huge financial hit. 501 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,679 Speaker 1: They sold more than five million copies over the years, 502 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: and it included the first ever suggestion that whales were 503 00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 1: able to communicate with each other using echolocation. And the 504 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,200 Speaker 1: team even knew how to build on that success because 505 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,680 Speaker 1: like just a few years later, Cousto made his first 506 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: color movie documentary about the ocean. It's called The Silent World, 507 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: and it actually one best documentary oscar in ninety seven. 508 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,440 Speaker 1: The movie turned out to be another big turning point 509 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,439 Speaker 1: for Custo's team and really for diving in general, because 510 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,639 Speaker 1: at the time very few people had seen undersea footage before, 511 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: so the movie was really like this revelation for people 512 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: who had no idea what the plants or the animals 513 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: and the ocean even looked like. Yeah, it was actually 514 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 1: fun reading about how after this film came out, scuba 515 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: sales like went through the roof because you've got all 516 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: these people who are suddenly interested in trying diving for themselves, 517 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: and you know, once again, Cousto knew exactly how to 518 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 1: capitalize on this, so he channeled all that money and 519 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: public interest into these new expeditions, until finally he was 520 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,120 Speaker 1: such a well known figure that the BBC and ABC 521 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: here in the US just went ahead and gave him 522 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: his own primetime TV show. Oh I know about this. 523 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 1: It was actually called The Undersea World of Jack Cousteau, 524 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: and it kind of followed the real life exploits of 525 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: him and his crew for I want to say, like 526 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,879 Speaker 1: nine seasons right like that. That's pretty impressive for like 527 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: a French nature series. Absolutely, and it was it was 528 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 1: this series that really made Custo a household name throughout 529 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: the seventies and eighties. You know, in the same way 530 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: that The Silent World had introduced movie goers to the 531 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: underwater world, the TV show gave viewers their first glimpse 532 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: at humans interacting with ocean creatures like in a way 533 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: they'd never really seen before. And you know, they got 534 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,720 Speaker 1: to see them swimming with dolphins or being pulled along 535 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: by giant sea turtles. And so I'm sure it was 536 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:52,919 Speaker 1: just fascinating for people to be able to watch for 537 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 1: the first time. Yeah, it's amazing. But I also do 538 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: want to be careful that we don't paint to Rosie 539 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: a picture of Custo, because for all the incredible achievements, 540 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: he definitely made a few really weird mistakes over the years, 541 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,280 Speaker 1: and honestly, some of them are just two bizarre not 542 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: to talk about. I think that's that's fair to say. Well, 543 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: before we get into that, let's take one more quick break, 544 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: all right, Mango, So what dodgy aspect of Jacques Cousto's 545 00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:34,640 Speaker 1: life do you think people would be most surprised to learn? Well, 546 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: the one I was most stunned by, but it was 547 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: I guess, his darkest secret, which is that Becausto actually 548 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,879 Speaker 1: had a secret second family that he hid from the 549 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:48,280 Speaker 1: public for decades. Um one year after his first wife, Simone, 550 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,360 Speaker 1: died from cancer, Cousto actually shocked the world by revealing 551 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: that he had been having this long running affair with 552 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: a French woman named Francine Triplet, and they had had 553 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 1: two secret children together during the eights and once the 554 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:05,359 Speaker 1: fair was out in the open, Custo married Triplet, though 555 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 1: they still tried to keep it as quiet as possible 556 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: for obvious reasons. Wow. I mean, I know when pop 557 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: culture French husbands have a reputation for keeping mistresses, but 558 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,879 Speaker 1: having secret kids and actually getting married is it seems 559 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: like it's another level. But anyway to think that Simone 560 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 1: sold for jewels to fuel his ships, that's that's a 561 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:26,439 Speaker 1: tough one. Yeah, you know, it's always confusing to me 562 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: when people have two families to like, like one family 563 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,880 Speaker 1: feels like so much work. I can't imagine like trying 564 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: to keep to them going. I read this story about 565 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: William Shawn who was this legendary editor of The New Yorker, 566 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 1: and he had two families, but he kept his apartments 567 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: the exact same, so that when he reached for the 568 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:45,320 Speaker 1: remote in one or he went to get a notepad 569 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:47,240 Speaker 1: in the other, like, it was basically in the same 570 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 1: place in both settings, which is just so crafty. You know, 571 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: his second family is probably the biggest scandal of Cousto's life, 572 00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: So I guess at least, you know, it is good 573 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: that his wife wasn't around to see the fallout from it. Yeah, no, 574 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 1: that's that's interesting. Well, the next thing I want to 575 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: talk about is a lot less scandals than a secret family, 576 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: but it is a whole lot weirder, I actually think 577 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: because in the nineteen sixty interview with Time, Jacques Cousto 578 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: predicted that humans would one day be able to breathe underwater, 579 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 1: like actually breathe underwater like fish. He apparently thought that 580 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,840 Speaker 1: medical science would get to a point where you could 581 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: have a reversible surgery that would let you alternate between 582 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: lungs for life on land and gills for life underwater. 583 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,960 Speaker 1: So like in his vision slash fantasy for this, like, 584 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 1: would we have underwater colonies? Because I mean, if it 585 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:42,720 Speaker 1: requires surgery to switch back and forth, I'm guessing he 586 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: was picturing something more permanent than just like a like 587 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: a two week vacation or something. Yeah, I mean he 588 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:50,560 Speaker 1: was actually thinking long term with this, and can you 589 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: can imagine like for him that would have been exciting 590 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: to just be able to live underwater. But in that interview, 591 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: this is what he says about the cultural shift he 592 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: thought would come from having gills. He said, everything that 593 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: has been done on the surface will sooner or later 594 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: be done underwater. It will be the conquest of a 595 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: whole new world. I mean, I feel like that's just 596 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: a line from like Aquaman, like like maybe something a 597 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: bad guy would say. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if 598 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: that had been said at some point. But you know, 599 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: speaking of things that sound like they were ripped from 600 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: a comic book, did you know that Jacques Cousto may 601 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: have been responsible for releasing a mutant seaweed strain that 602 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: continues to smother ocean floors to this day. So I 603 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,840 Speaker 1: heard you mentioned this earlier, and I'm so curious that 604 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 1: it almost sounds too ridiculous to be true though. All right, well, 605 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: let me just kind of explain what happened here and 606 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,080 Speaker 1: then then you can decide what you want to believe 607 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: on this one. So all right, So it all started 608 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen nine when this marine biologist named Alexander Maynez 609 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: went diving off the southern coast of France and made 610 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 1: this shocking discovery. So what he found was that the 611 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,120 Speaker 1: seabed throughout the region had become covered in this toxic 612 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,400 Speaker 1: tropical algae. When that was you know, really shouldn't have 613 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 1: been able to thrive like that in the cold Mediterranean water. 614 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 1: And it was later determined that the tropical seaweed was 615 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: growing at twice the speed of the region's indigenous plants, 616 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 1: and even worse than that. Even though the seaweeds toxin, 617 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: you know, it wasn't lethal the humans or the animals, 618 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 1: it made the plant taste terrible. And so this meant 619 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: that nothing in the area wanted to eat the invasive species, 620 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 1: and as a result, it was able to spread, I 621 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 1: mean pretty much unchecked. And so Alexander knew that like 622 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 1: if nothing was done, the tropical seaweed would take over 623 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,240 Speaker 1: and the Mediterraneans wildlife would either have to move somewhere 624 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: else or potentially face starvation. So he decided to bring 625 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: his concerns to one of Europe's leading marine research organizations, 626 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:47,360 Speaker 1: which was the Monaco Oceanographic Museum, and he thought for 627 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: sure that the museum would want to help solve the problem, 628 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,600 Speaker 1: but to his surprise, actually the director insisted that the 629 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: seaweed had floated in naturally from the tropics and probably 630 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: wasn't as dangerous as it seemed. And so here's where 631 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: things get interesting, because the invasive algae that supposedly floated 632 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,400 Speaker 1: in from the tropics, DNA testing later showed that it 633 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: was actually an artificial human bread strain that was somehow 634 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: released into the Mediterranean. What's like, I don't even know 635 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 1: what that means exactly. Apparently this was man made and 636 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 1: you know, if that weren't suspicious enough, researchers also found 637 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,200 Speaker 1: that the earliest known infestation site for the seaweed happened 638 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: to be directly below the Monaco Ocean, a graphic museum. Wow, 639 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,719 Speaker 1: so the plot thickens. But you know, where does Jockosteau 640 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: figure into all of this? Like, is he the one 641 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 1: behind that strain? No? I mean that part is actually 642 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: still kind of a mystery. And researchers eventually followed the 643 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,280 Speaker 1: trail to a zoo and stud guard Germany, which had 644 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 1: imported the strain from the Pacific and then used it 645 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:55,239 Speaker 1: to decorate their tropical fish tanks because apparently, and this 646 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,280 Speaker 1: is something I actually never heard before, but some zoos 647 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: and aquariums used to have a really hard time getting 648 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: seaweed to survive and the artificial environment of a fish tank. 649 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,360 Speaker 1: And so for this German zoo in the seventies, the 650 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: solution turned out to be, you know, this imported tropical seaweed, 651 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,560 Speaker 1: which for whatever reason flourished in the way that other 652 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,200 Speaker 1: plants never seemed to be able to. So then what 653 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 1: happens exactly like the zoo eventually dumped their tanks in 654 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: the ocean, and this seaweed made its way to the Mediterranean. 655 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:26,480 Speaker 1: Like didn't you say you thought the strain was men made? 656 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,320 Speaker 1: The Yeah it was. And and the thinking here is 657 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,960 Speaker 1: that maybe, just maybe the chemicals and the lights that 658 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: were used in the aquarium tanks caused the plant to 659 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 1: mutate into this more invasive species than the kind that 660 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 1: was originally found in the wild. And since aquariums all 661 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 1: over the world began using the tropical strain once they 662 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: heard about the Zoo's success, there's really no way of 663 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 1: knowing exactly where the mutant batch came from or who 664 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: dumped it into the open water. But since the Monaco 665 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:58,000 Speaker 1: Museum is considered the first known infestation site, there's a 666 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,880 Speaker 1: good chance that it actually did come for there. And 667 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,760 Speaker 1: so here's the thing. Based on the evidence, the most 668 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:06,600 Speaker 1: likely time for all of us to have happened was 669 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen eighties. And guess who was running 670 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:14,840 Speaker 1: the museum in the early nineteen eighties, So I guess 671 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 1: this whole ecologic disaster like like it must have happened 672 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: on Custo's watch, is what you're saying. Yeah, I feel 673 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,400 Speaker 1: like I should have had that big set up and 674 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:25,520 Speaker 1: be like, Nope, it actually wasn't Cousto, But it wasn't. 675 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,040 Speaker 1: He could have even been the one to unknowingly release 676 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: the algae. But of course the Monaco Museum flatly denies 677 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:37,000 Speaker 1: all of this and maintance there's no connection whatsoever. And meanwhile, 678 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 1: the seaweed is actually still there today, and in recent 679 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,280 Speaker 1: years it's cropped up in the harbors and coral reefs 680 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: around Australia southern California too, so it is kind of 681 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,000 Speaker 1: all over the place. So you know, at this point 682 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,759 Speaker 1: it's probably time to worry less about who started the 683 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 1: problem and more about how to actually fix it. Also, 684 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:57,799 Speaker 1: I mean, like Custo has done so much it's it's 685 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 1: hard to imagine it would really hurt his legacy, and 686 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:03,759 Speaker 1: probably not. I mean, his work has led to so 687 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 1: many marine discoveries and inspired so many future explorers that 688 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,160 Speaker 1: he probably gets a pass on this one, I guess. 689 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,640 Speaker 1: And you know that's before you even consider the conservation 690 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:16,320 Speaker 1: work that's been done through his nonprofit, the Cousteau Society, 691 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,279 Speaker 1: which is something he formed himself back into. Yeah, I mean, 692 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:22,800 Speaker 1: he was obviously an overachiever, as we've probably shown today, 693 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,800 Speaker 1: but I would still say his greatest achievement was opening 694 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:29,120 Speaker 1: so many people's eyes to just how beautiful and mysterious 695 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: and strange the ocean really is. I mean, it's really 696 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,800 Speaker 1: difficult to get people to open themselves to the unknown, 697 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:38,239 Speaker 1: but that's exactly what Jack Gusteau did through his work. 698 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: He showed them reasons to care about the ocean. That's 699 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: a great point. And you know, like I read this week, 700 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:47,440 Speaker 1: roughly of all the space on Earth where life can survive, 701 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 1: he's actually underwater. We've only fully explored about five per 702 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:53,920 Speaker 1: cent of that, and you know, when you think about it, 703 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:57,240 Speaker 1: the number was even lower than that before Cousteau came along, 704 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:00,680 Speaker 1: and now, hopefully, thanks to his example, a little continue 705 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: to go up from there. Because of Cousto's work proved anything, 706 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 1: it's that exploring the oceans is the way for humans 707 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:09,880 Speaker 1: to fall in love with them, and from there, the 708 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,000 Speaker 1: hope is that if we love them, then we'll also 709 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: do our best to take care of them too. And 710 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,120 Speaker 1: it may sound a little bit corny, but you know, 711 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:19,600 Speaker 1: here's hoping it does sound corny, we get to the 712 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: fact off from here, all right, let's do it. So 713 00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:32,440 Speaker 1: here's something kind of fun. Off the coast of Florida. 714 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:35,600 Speaker 1: There's this underwater Museum of Art and it's the first 715 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,799 Speaker 1: underwater museum in the US. In addition to like the 716 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:41,280 Speaker 1: artwork they've got there, they've got like a dear giant 717 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,279 Speaker 1: skull a pineapple, which I thought was initially like a 718 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 1: tribute to SpongeBob, but apparently it's just a beautiful pineapple. Uh. 719 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,880 Speaker 1: There's also this model of Jock Cousto's scuba mask, and 720 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,520 Speaker 1: it is pretty cool because the sculptures are sixty ft 721 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,480 Speaker 1: deep and it's in this artificial reef where all types 722 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,320 Speaker 1: of reef fish and turtles and other animals just swim 723 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:03,560 Speaker 1: through and seems really beautiful. All right, Well, here's one 724 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:07,479 Speaker 1: I wasn't expecting. Apparently Fidel Castro was a huge fan 725 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:11,359 Speaker 1: of Cousto, so in when Custo asked to come through 726 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:15,760 Speaker 1: and research Cuba system for managing their lobster population, Castro 727 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,080 Speaker 1: actually went aboard custos ship and ate dinner on board 728 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,800 Speaker 1: the Calypso and the pair, I guess got along so well. 729 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:26,120 Speaker 1: That mental Philoss reports on this Castro allowed the diver 730 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:30,759 Speaker 1: to liberate eighty political prisoners. Also, Custo's team became the 731 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,880 Speaker 1: first non Cubans to pass through Guantanamo Bay since the 732 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:37,880 Speaker 1: Cuban missile crisis. That's pretty impressive. So one of the 733 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:41,680 Speaker 1: things I'm always fascinated about is how Custo helped stop whaling. 734 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,680 Speaker 1: He actually called up and personally made please to a 735 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,200 Speaker 1: number of heads of states to get the International Whaling 736 00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:51,000 Speaker 1: Commission to pass this moratorium on commercial whaling. This was 737 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,839 Speaker 1: in six and that's actually helped protect multiple species over 738 00:37:55,880 --> 00:38:00,200 Speaker 1: the years. All Right, Well, Cousto apparently didn't always come 739 00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:03,319 Speaker 1: across as an environmentalist. In fact, in the beginning he 740 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,640 Speaker 1: was more of a spear fisherman and an adventurer. And 741 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 1: you can actually see this in some of his early films, 742 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:12,359 Speaker 1: Like there's this horrific scene in the Silent World where 743 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:16,040 Speaker 1: the calypso collides with a baby sperm whale and then, 744 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:18,880 Speaker 1: thinking that it's near death, they also shoot the sharks 745 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:22,160 Speaker 1: that starts circling the whale. So this obviously isn't a 746 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,920 Speaker 1: good look for Cousto, and so when the group decided 747 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,879 Speaker 1: to remaster the film. Twenty years later, they decided to 748 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,800 Speaker 1: edit out those ugly scenes, but according to reports, Custo 749 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:36,240 Speaker 1: absolutely refused to let that happen. He said, it was true, 750 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,840 Speaker 1: and it shows how far we've come and how dreadful 751 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:42,360 Speaker 1: humans can be if we don't curtail ourselves. So on 752 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,759 Speaker 1: one hand, it's a little like Steve z Zoo from 753 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:47,600 Speaker 1: The Life Aquatic, like wanting to go out and kill 754 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,800 Speaker 1: a shark. And on the other hand, it really is amazing, 755 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,799 Speaker 1: like you'd show your warts and all in the hopes 756 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,160 Speaker 1: that others could learn that we can all change. You know. 757 00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:00,160 Speaker 1: I just love how Jack Custo's appreciation for this. He 758 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,759 Speaker 1: just grew more and more over the years. And I 759 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:05,319 Speaker 1: do think you get a trophy for pointing to that. Yeah, 760 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:07,399 Speaker 1: I mean, he led an incredible life and it's fun 761 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:09,719 Speaker 1: to try to learn from it. But all right, well, 762 00:39:09,719 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 1: I think that's it for today's show. So from Gabe, Tristan, Mango, 763 00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:28,440 Speaker 1: and me, thanks so much for listening. M