In Ocean Depths 



be piled upon each square inch of his body ; two 

 miles down, would mean two extra tons on each 

 square inch ; three miles down, three extra tons ; 

 and so on. The load would soon become in- 

 tolerable. 



For many years scientists maintained that in 

 such depths no life could exist, since no bodies 

 could withstand the awful pressure. Yet we now 

 know that frail jelly-fish, fragile shell-inhabitants, 

 do withstand it, flourishing there by myriads. 



Perhaps the fact was somewhat overlooked, 

 that the pressure upon a living creature is not 

 only inwards from without, but also is outwards 

 from within. This is true of ourselves in the 

 ocean of air, breathing air. It is true of 

 creatures in the ocean of water, breathing water. 



Much less than the weight of thirty thousand 

 pounds might crush a man flat, were it not for 

 the resisting pressure from within. If for one 

 instant he could empty his body of all inner air 

 and liquids, and could so harden his skin that no 

 air should squeeze through its pores, he would be 

 pressed as flat as a pancake by the surrounding 

 atmosphere. 



A story has been told, illustrative of this. 

 Once upon a time a clever fellow started an 

 original idea. He proposed to make a balloon, 



43 



