# Free dive to bottom of Mariana Trench, yes or no? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442 "2020-07-15T22:04:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/1 "2020-07-15T22:04:59Z")
This is so mundane it belongs more in MPSIMS, but IMHO is more the place for polling. Say you are the lucky sweepstake winner of a free submarine dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, in a mini-submersible like the kind James Cameron used for his dive. All expenses paid. You get to go down with a couple of scientists/technicians and spend a few hours there on the bottom, then come back up. Yay or nay? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/2 "2020-07-15T22:51:18Z")
I voted “no”, but the answer is probably “it depends”. Would I be flown directly from my house to the trench and back? Or would other activities and sight-seeing be part of this package? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/3 "2020-07-15T23:18:52Z")
I really thought you meant something else by the term “free dive.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/4 "2020-07-15T23:20:37Z")
Aye; I was intrigued enough by that that I opened the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/5 "2020-07-15T23:23:40Z")
Can I listen to “Rio” by Duran Duran while I’m down there? For 20 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/6 "2020-07-15T23:28:34Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I really thought you meant something else by the term “free dive.” Me too! I voted “yes.” I’d probably be a little scared, but…wow, what an amazing opportunity! ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/7 "2020-07-15T23:35:57Z")
I heard an interview today with a man who suddenly went blind when he was 18. He said he decided to say yes to everything and his world got much bigger. This is the philosophy I’ve always lived my life by and so I wouldn’t hesitate. Mind you, if there’s a fault with the integrity of the sub then your world is going to quickly get much smaller. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/8 "2020-07-15T23:50:03Z")
I voted no. Not sure there is much to see in the inky blackness or if it would be worth the 90 min ride down and 90 min ride back up. However, I would not mind hanging around on their support ship for a few days and learn about their studies, theories, and processes for supporting such a dive. That would be more interesting to me that the dive itself, and being above water is also attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/9 "2020-07-15T23:51:56Z")
Hell, yes-providing there was at least a 75% chance of making the trip safely. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/10 "2020-07-16T00:06:53Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Can I listen to “Rio” by Duran Duran while I’m down there? For 20 minutes? Can I sing “Yellow Submarine” over and over for the 20 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/11 "2020-07-16T00:23:32Z")
I love the idea! I love it! But…claustrophobia, y’know? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/12 "2020-07-16T00:25:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Hell, yes-providing there was at least a 75% chance of making the trip safely. Really? You’d risk a 25% chance of death for this? I just can’t imagine that it would be such a remarkable experience, I don’t think you’d really see a whole lot. I’d be interested in doing the Mariana Trench trip, but only with more like a 1% chance of dying. I’d take a 25% risk of death to walk on the Moon, or a 100% chance of death to be one of the first to walk on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/13 "2020-07-16T00:29:16Z")
I’d be willing to overcome claustrophobia to actually see what remains of the Titanic (nothing to do with the movie – the Titanic has fascinated me since childhood) – but there’s nothing that fascinating about the Mariana Trench unless one is engaged in a relevant research study. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/14 "2020-07-16T00:36:15Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I really thought you meant something else by the term “free dive.” So did I. Once I thoroughly read the OP, I changed my vote to “yes.” I’d love to dive freely\* down there, but it’d be too much of a headache. Tripler \*Note: Based on **Eyebrow’s** link. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/15 "2020-07-16T00:37:36Z")
Maybe the movie _Yes Man_ was more of a warning than entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/16 "2020-07-16T00:40:18Z")
Meh, I’d rather fish from the deck while waiting for the sub to come back up. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/17 "2020-07-16T01:11:18Z")
Yes with absolutely no hesitation! As a marine biologist I would be facinated by absolutely any life we witnessed. But more than that, there have only been a handful of manned decents to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. You would be one of very few people to have done it…akin to walking on the moon! ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/18 "2020-07-16T01:51:27Z")
Part of me would love to do it, but I think the claustrophobic part would win out. Lesser depths and a larger submersible I could probably handle. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/19 "2020-07-16T02:06:11Z")
Had enough adventure in life. If they can bring the Mariana Trench to me then I’ll do it, too much trouble otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442/20 "2020-07-16T02:09:28Z")
Sure…why not? It’s much deeper than I’ve been in a submarine before, but it would be neat to take a dive on a submersible with view ports. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dive-to-bottom-of-mariana-trench-yes-or-no/915442.md?page=2)