1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Okay, are you the curious type? I mean, what motivates 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: an explorer? Why would someone want to go to the 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: deepest place on Earth? The Mariana Trench is almost seven 4 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,319 Speaker 1: miles down. Would you want to travel down in a 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: vehicle that feels like a coffin into pitch blackness with 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: water temperatures around thirty six degrees except where thermal vents 7 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: rush out at seven hundred degrees, not knowing for sure 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: you'll ever resurface, and what happens to you in those 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: few moments if there's a catastrophic failure. Now imagine you're 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: doing that sixty five years ago, when communications and safety 11 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: measures were primitive at best. I'm Patty Steele surviving a 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: trip toward the center of the Earth. Next on the backstory, 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: The backstory is back. Really, what motivates someone to climb 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: into a tiny metal tube? Just a thought of that 15 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: gives me the creeps and just keep dropping underwater down 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: to total darkness. The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: at its deepest point, is almost thirty six thousand feet 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: or almost seven miles below the surface. That is deeper 19 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: than Mount Everest is tall. Everest is the tallest mountain 20 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: in the world above sea level at twenty seven thousand feet, 21 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: over a mile less than the trench's depth. Now imagine 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: you're the first person to actually descend to the very 23 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: bottom of the trench, all thirty six thousand feet. You 24 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: have no clue what you're going to see, and you're 25 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: probably not even sure you'll ever resurface. I had a 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:41,959 Speaker 1: chance just a week ago or so to visit the 27 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington. It was a close 28 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: up look at the development of submarines, and it honestly 29 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: scared the heck out of me. The people going down 30 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: in subs back in the beginning hundreds of years ago 31 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: weren't going very deep, but it was dark, cold, and 32 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: totally unfamiliar, and they frequently never made it back up. 33 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: The Mariana Trench was actually discovered back in eighteen seventy five. 34 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: The HMS Challenger was out in the middle of the 35 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: Pacific Ocean near the Marianna Islands doing a routine depth sounding. 36 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: The scientists and sailors lowered a weighted rope into the 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: water as usual, but this time the rope kept falling 38 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 1: and falling and falling. It dropped to twenty seven thousand feet, 39 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: not the deepest part of the trench, as it turns out, 40 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: but crazy deep. And by the way, who knew these 41 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: guys could carry five miles of rope on a boat 42 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: back in those days. Well, anyway, that was the beginning 43 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: of the fascination with this remote part of our planet. 44 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: Now fast forward eighty five years. It's nineteen sixty, In fact, 45 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 1: sixty five years ago this week that the great Swiss 46 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: ocean explorer Jacques Picard, in twenty nine year old Navy 47 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: Lieutenant Don Walsh became the first humans ever to take 48 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: the plunge. They reached the deepest part of the Mariana 49 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: trench called the Challenger Deep in a tube like submersible 50 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: called the Trieste. Think about it. No one had ever 51 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: been down there, and in fact, no vessel, even without people, 52 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: had ever been down there. What's it like? While the 53 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: water pressure is about eleven hundred times greater than at 54 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 1: the surface, pretty much like an elephant standing on your 55 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: thumb ouch and absolutely no light gets down there. Plus again, 56 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: the water temperature is close to freezing except for those 57 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: seven hundred degree thermal vents. Not a picnic. It took 58 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: the card and Walsh almost five hours to get to 59 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: the bottom, but at thirty thousand feet one of the 60 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: outer plexiglass window panes cracked, making the treeste shake violently. Wow, 61 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: I'm as curious as anybody, but no thanks anyway. The 62 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: two spent only about twenty minutes on the seafloor, which 63 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: they said was made of a thick, ouzy material, kind 64 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: of mud like. They didn't see much with limited outside lighting, 65 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: but they did see what were probably sea cucumbers. That's 66 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: an eel like animal that looks a little bit like 67 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: a sweet potato or a yellow cucumber. The trip back 68 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: to the mother ship took them a little over three hours. 69 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: And here's the interesting thing. That was January of nineteen 70 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: sixty and no one went back down to the bottom 71 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: of the Mariana Trench until twenty twelve, fifty two years later, 72 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: when Titanic director James Cameron went down by himself. Clearly 73 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: his movie inspired his love of the deep ocean, and 74 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: his movie money allowed him to build a crazy technology 75 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: laden vessel for his trip. It was called the Deep 76 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: Sea Challenger, a twenty four foot submersible with one nine 77 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: and a half inch thick window so it could withstand 78 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,040 Speaker 1: the pressure of the deepest place on Earth. From it, 79 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: Cameron took the first ever photos of the Challenger deep. 80 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: He says, people ask me what were the differences between 81 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: the Trieste back in nineteen sixty and the deep sea 82 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 1: Challenger submersibles. That's like asking Orville Wright, what was the 83 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: difference between your airplane and a seven forty seven. While 84 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: the Trieste and the Challenger deep both do the same 85 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: essential thing. They carry people to the deepest place in 86 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: the ocean, they can withstand great pressure, but there most 87 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: of the similarities end. Because you're talking about a half 88 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: century of technology, and I would add a literal boatload 89 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: more money. The lights and cameras alone that Cameron used 90 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: didn't even exist in nineteen sixty. Walsh says, we didn't 91 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: have very good stuff back then. Nothing existed. If you 92 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: needed something, you had to design it and build it yourself. 93 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: There were no catalogs or companies that specialized in providing 94 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: components for deep submersibles. But he was there in twenty 95 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: twelve to mentor Cameron for his eight hour round trip dive. 96 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: Walsh says, just before he shut the hatch to make 97 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: the dive, I said good luck and have fun. That 98 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: was my advice. I said, just have fun. And when 99 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: Cameron resurfaced, Walsh says, well, when he opened the hatch, 100 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,359 Speaker 1: I was there too. I shook his hand and I said, 101 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: welcome to the club. There are only two of us. Cameron, 102 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: who spent three hours at the bottom, says he felt 103 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: completely disconnected from humanity, like he was on another planet. 104 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: He collected samples, took photos, and reflected. He said, as 105 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: you prepare for the dive over months and years, it's 106 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: all science and technology and money. But when you finally 107 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 1: dive to the bottom of the ocean, you have to 108 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: face the fact that there are one hundred horrible ways 109 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: to die. Since Cameron's March twenty six, twenty twelve trip, 110 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: a few dozen others have made the dive, but the 111 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: curiosity and guts it takes to make that kind of 112 00:06:53,560 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: trip are really powerful. Hope you like the backstory with 113 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. I would love it if you would subscribe 114 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: or follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, 115 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: and feel free to DM me if you have a 116 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty 117 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: Steele and on Instagram, Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 118 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis 119 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: Duran Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. 120 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday 121 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with 122 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty 123 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening 124 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history 125 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.