# No more deep end? Chin quivers. (longish) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438 "2003-07-14T18:09:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/1 "2003-07-14T18:09:14Z")
The following is an article from the SF Gate, one of my favorite writers, Mark Morford. The swimming pool as you know it is no more, and the childhood rite of passage will never be the same By Mark Morford So it’s not exactly the end of the divine luminous world and it’s not exactly as bitterly dire as BushCo smirkingly reaming this nation and gutting schools and the economy and the environment and sex and joy, all slathered with his bald-faced lies about war. No, it’s not quite as bad as that. _redacted - see below - ub_ ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/2 "2003-07-14T19:00:31Z")
**Moderator’s Notes:** > [@](#): > > The following is an article from the SF Gate, one of my favorite writers, Mark Morford. That’s great. How do you suppose Mr. Morford and the San Francisco Chronicle feel about copyright violations? I don’t know for sure, but I **can** tell you how the Chicago Reader feels about them—they’re don’t like 'em on little bit, that’s why your user agreement says, “You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this BB.” I very strongly suspect the San Francisco Chronicle feels much the same (I do see, however, Morford has a bit of a hard-on for conservative republicans, so maybe intellectual property rights don’t mean all that much to him, but I’d bet my mod hat the Chronicle feels otherwise). So. Barring any proof of your permission to republish this work, or proof of ownership of the San Francisco Chronicle, I have removed the bulk of your post. In the future, should you wish to initiate discussion with, or of, a copyrighted work, please _a)_ provide a link to the work and/or _b)_ post small portions (the smaller the better) and give us your thoughts on those portions, which you may do so now. You **should not** , under any circumstances, post entire articles such as you have here. Thank you, UncleBeer, for the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/3 "2003-07-14T19:09:53Z")
I deeply apologize. I was unaware I had violated copywright violations. I will, of course, refrain from doing so in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/4 "2003-07-14T19:22:50Z")
I do not have a link for the above article, as it was part of a newsletter sent out to subscribers to the above mentioned columnist. However, the jist of the article lamented the rapid disappearance of the deep end of the swimming pool. Due to continuing pressure from various industries, the deep end of the swimming pool is being evened out to not more than 6 feet in most major hotel chains, and quite a few contractors refuse to make swimming pools any deeper than 6 feet, citing the dangers of having pools that are too deep. I think I would have to agree that this does infringe on a sort of “rite of passage” that most children go through; transition from “stay here where I can keep an eye on you!” to “go ahead, stay under at the bottom of the deep end as long as you can, I’ll time you!” It’s a kind of end to one kind of fear, the fear of the unknown, and the beginning of independence. It seems so sad that, because of a few lawyers slavering at the prospect of lawsuits in waiting, our kids won’t have the same incredible thrill of exploring the deep end we had when we were kids. It’s losing the drive-in movie all over again. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/5 "2003-07-14T19:24:02Z")
[The article](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2003/07/01/national1354EDT0617.DTL). ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/6 "2003-07-14T19:25:00Z")
ty, elfbabe. ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/7 "2003-07-14T19:35:04Z")
I just heard on the news the other day that one of our local (Scott County Park) has one of the few deep ends left in the state of Iowa. (15 feet) We also have one of the last remaining high dives. I’m not sure how tall it is. I just know that I used to love the thrill of it when I was a child and also in my early teens, but now I’m just a big chicken shit. My heathens love the thrill of it now and forcing me to hold my breath while watching them jump off. ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/8 "2003-07-15T05:34:04Z")
What I gather from this article and a few others is that pools are being filled in not because the incidents of drowning and injury have gone up, but because the number of lawsuits has gone up. Very sad. What will life by like when grown siblings can’t torment their brothers and sisters by telling nieces and nephews “Did you know your momma was 15 before she would go in the deep end?” Pretty soon, all bikes will have training wheels. In any case, without proper supervision and swimming lessons, a kid can easily drown in the kiddy pool. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/9 "2003-07-15T05:56:28Z")
These kids will never known the joy of a perfectly executed cannonball. Or the agony of a perfectly executed cannonball turning into a backbuster. I winced just remembering those. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/10 "2003-07-15T06:38:55Z")
Jesus H. Christ. Aren’t there supposed to be life guards? I just don’t get this _vogue_ practice of placing blame for one’s own lack of discresion what with these lawsuits and all. Instead of watching over our children and ourselves, let’s just sue our benefactors! I guess everyone fails to give a shit all around the table. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/11 "2003-07-15T07:54:59Z")
I WAS a lifeguard for a few years, and fishing kids out of the deep end was the only exciting thing I ever got to do! Jeez, don’t kids ever brag about going off the high dive any more? Isn’t it a rite of passage? Doesn’t anyone remember the pride of accomplishment they felt after overcoming their fear of the high dive? It was amazing to watch some kid who once cowered in fear at the edge of the diving board transform into the jackknife king after only a few days. Amazing lessons about challenges, confidence and life were being learned in a fun setting. But no more, apparently. What’s next? Outlaw ropes tied to trees next to a lake? Why don’t we just level all the mountains in the world so no one can ever fall down?:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Theios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/12 "2003-07-15T07:59:30Z")
So that’s what’s going on. I went to a swimming pool for the first time since I was a teenager this summer. I was a little suprised at how shallow the “deep” end was. I just figured I had misremembered it from my youth. I should have known something was wrong if I could stand on my tippy toes, hold my head back and still be able to breath. You’re right. This is very sad. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/13 "2003-07-15T08:27:20Z")
How can you play fox across the river without a deep end? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-deep-end-chin-quivers-longish/188438/14 "2003-07-15T14:55:38Z")
or Marco Polo? or lurk at the bottom, waiting for your brother to dive so you can grab his ankle and scare the daylights out of him? What’s to look forward to at a swimming pool anymore, except cooling off? And will they take high diving out of the Olympics? “Sorry, our country doesn’t teach its children to do that; too scary, too many lawsuits. Please remove this event.”