Regulators are one of the greatest inventions to come to the underwater explorer. Without them, we could not spend hours upon hours of our lives floating along in weightless bliss exploring the underwater world that we love. Regulators have come a long way since their inception. They are probably the one piece of scuba equipment that has seen the most innovation and advancement in the diving industry. Let's take a look back at the seven coolest facts about the history of the regulator.
The 7 coolest history facts about the scuba regulator:
1. Jacques Cousteau was not the first inventor of the regulator!
80 years BEFORE Cousteau invented the Aqua-Lung, a Frenchmen named Benoît Rouquayrol invented the demand valve for use in poisonous mining. He later teamed up with French Navy Lieutenant Auguste Denayrouze to take this concept underwater using surface supplied air.
2. A Fortunate Coincidence?
The birth of the original diving system invented by Jacques-Yves Cousteau may have been put off for several years had Cousteau been able to tolerate the pure oxygen used in the military oxygen rebreathers being used at that time. However, since he had a poor tolerance to pure oxygen he was unable to stay underwater for as long as he needed to complete his filming. Therefore, spawning the desire to invent a device he could use to achieve these filming goals.
3. The Aqua-Lung broke the connection to the surface.
Before the invention of the Aqua-Lung, the only diving available was through free-flowing air systems where divers were connected to the surface. The Aqua-Lung took the air underwater with the first "regulator" that could control the air pressure and reduce it to a pressure the diver could breathe.
4. It wasn't just Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau liked to refer to himself as the "realizatueur" or the "Father of the Aqua-Lung." Without his vision and passion, this device would probably not have been invented BUT it was the engineering genius of his partner, Emile Gagnan, that allowed the invention of the Aqua-Lung to be realized. Without Gagnan, scuba history would be a whole lot different.
5. The Aqua-Lung brought diving to the masses
Before the invention of the Aqua-Lung, the only way to dive was to either be in the Navy or involved in a highly involved process of team-work in supplying air to divers below the surface. Diving was lacking the "freedom" a self-contained breathing apparatus can offer. The Aqua-Lung took the self-contained apparatus and allowed the air delivery to be controlled via the invention of a more sophisticated demand valve. Therefore, creating the birth of recreational scuba diving.
6. Scuba innovation exploded after the Aqua-Lung
With Cousteau able to stay underwater longer on his Aqua-Lung he was able to bring his mesmerizing documentaries to the masses and there became an obsession with exploring the underwater world. With this desire to go underwater we see an explosion of scuba innovation during the 1960's.
7. Who invented the first single-hosed regulator??
There is actually a little bit of controversy surrounding this milestone. In 1951 a man named E.R. Cross who served in the United States Navy invented what would come to be known as the first two-staged single hose regulator called the "Sportdiver." However, just around the same time, an Australian by the name of Ted Eldred invented something he called the "Porpoise," which was, in the area, the first single-hose open-circuit scuba regulator.
The time period during the 1940's to the 1960's saw explosive growth in the innovation of scuba diving. Many inventors seemed to be working on a lot of the same things during the same time frame, but without these men and their desire to explore the underwater world, diving could be a lot different today. Thanks to them, we can throw on our light-weight regulators that deliver air to us in an extremely efficient manner any time we want and for that, we are all endlessly grateful!
