# When did infinity pools become a 'thing'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163 "2019-06-07T14:24:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/1 "2019-06-07T14:24:50Z")
Yes, I know that infinity pools were probably invented by Ogg the Builder Cave Man a quarter of a million years ago; but they didn’t seem to be a ‘thing’ until this century. I don’t know when I noticed them being discussed/depicted, but I’m going to guess ten years ago. When did infinity pools become so popular that everyone has heard of them, and every travel/luxury commercial shows them? ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/2 "2019-06-07T14:50:39Z")
Og the cave builder! No need to stop at such a recent event: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ldBBeJi6-Fs/maxresdefault.jpg "Swim To The Edge Of A Waterfall At Devil's Pool") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldBBeJi6-Fs) 🙂 I don’t know when the first hollywood star put in such a pool but it was decades ago: > **[r/OldSchoolCool - Bruce Willis living the life in 1989.](https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/2i2vxp/bruce_willis_living_the_life_in_1989/)** > > 11,079 votes and 635 comments so far on Reddit ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/3 "2019-06-07T14:53:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When did infinity pools become so popular that everyone has heard of them This is the first that I heard of them, and I had to look up what it meant. My first thought was that it meant a pool shaped so that you could keep swimming loops indefinitely without having to change directions. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/4 "2019-06-07T14:58:20Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I don’t know when the first hollywood star put in such a pool but it was decades ago: > [Reddit - Dive into anything](https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/2i2vxp/bruce_willis_living_the_life_in_1989/) That’s not an infinity pool! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/5 "2019-06-07T15:00:19Z")
I found an article from a 1992 _Orange County Register_ which uses the term and explains what it means[sup]1[/sup], and a 1993 _Los Angeles Times_ article which uses the term with scare quotes around the word _infinity_[sup]2[/sup], suggesting that it was a new term to the writer or they expected it to be a new term to the reader. FWIW, the same search yielded a 1970 article from the _Shanghai Daily_ which uses the term without any explanation at all, suggesting that it originated much earlier. [sup]1[/sup]“Dinner tables were sprinkled around an infinity pool (designed to look as if it’s spilling over the hillside), guarded by a fountain of swans.” [sup]2[/sup]“They include an ‘infinity’ pool with concrete columns running along its edge, designed so the water overflows into a basin below and then is pumped back into the pool.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/6 "2019-06-07T15:01:19Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > This is the first that I heard of them, and I had to look up what it meant. My first thought was that it meant a pool shaped so that you could keep swimming loops indefinitely without having to change directions. [Endless pools.](https://www.endlesspools.com/) It’s a swimmer’s “treadmill”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/7 "2019-06-07T15:06:32Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I found an article from a 1992 _Orange County Register_ which uses the term and explains what it means[sup]1[/sup], and a 1993 _Los Angeles Times_ article which uses the term with scare quotes around the word _infinity_[sup]2[/sup], suggesting that it was a new term to the writer or they expected it to be a new term to the reader. > > FWIW, the same search yielded a 1970 article from the _Shanghai Daily_ which uses the term without any explanation at all, suggesting that it originated much earlier. Yes, I’m sure they’ve been around a while; and I’m sure the term has been used for decades. It’s only somewhat recently though, that they seem to have become a ‘thing’. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/8 "2019-06-07T15:10:40Z")
I agree with SanVito, Bruce isn’t in an infinity pool, but it looks like it might have been a fore-runner. I found an article dating back to 2010 declaring that infinity pools were basically getting passé, and that they got their start in the 1990s: [Is this the end for the infinity pool? | Swimming | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/11/peter-mandelson-infinity-pools) It may be that they didn’t become known to the hoi polloi until about the time of the article, when it went from something only high end luxury vacation spots had to something every hotel claiming to be nice had to have. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/9 "2019-06-07T15:13:57Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Endless pools. It’s a swimmer’s “treadmill”. Interesting. I was thinking more in terms of pools built in the shape of a circle, or maybe of a figure 8. That of course would take more space. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/10 "2019-06-07T15:59:00Z")
Was this question triggered by the news about the [Insanity Pool](https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/06/the-worlds-first-360-degree-infinity-pool-is-coming-to-london/)? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/11 "2019-06-07T15:59:28Z")
From [Infinity pool - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_pool) > [@](#): > > It has been claimed that the infinity pool concept originated in France, and that one of the first vanishing-edge designs was the Stag Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, built in the late 17th century. In the US, architect John Lautner has been credited as one of the first to come up with an infinity pool design in the early 1960s. He included infinity pools in various residential projects, and also created the vanishing-edge pool in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/12 "2019-06-07T16:18:09Z")
The first time I heard the phrase around here is when the local suburbs started adding stuff to their municipal swimming pools and calling them Water Parks. That would have been some time in the '90s here in the Midwest. I expect SoCal, Arizona, or Texas had them at least 10 years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/13 "2019-06-07T16:23:28Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > Og the cave builder! No need to stop at such a recent event: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldBBeJi6-Fs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldBBeJi6-Fs) Why did I \*know \*that was going to be Devil’s Pool? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/14 "2019-06-07T16:32:27Z")
the Christian Science Center in Boston was designed in 1968 and included an “infinity pool” type reflecting pool, in which the water ran off over an edge on all four sides\*. Nobody was supposed to swim in it – it’s pretty shallow – but plenty of people have taken off their shoes and waded in it. It was filled and opened in 1972, but the design had been done four years previously > **[The building of the Christian Science Center - Mary Baker Eddy Library](https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/the-building-of-the-christian-science-center/)** > > See how this project helped revitalize The Mother Church and the City of Boston. > **[Reflecting pool reopens at the Christian Science Plaza - The Huntington News](https://huntnewsnu.com/55949/city-pulse/reflecting-pool-reopens-at-the-christian-science-plaza/)** > > The Christian Science Plaza had undertaken a variety of projects to enhance its look, sustainability and accessibility to visitors, with the most recent update being the reopened reflecting pool. - That means it’s a 360-degree “insanity Pool” long in advance of the one **Darren Garrison** linked to, although it’s not on top of a building or meant for swimming. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/15 "2019-06-07T17:49:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Why did I \*know \*that was going to be Devil’s Pool? Holy crap! How many people have gone over that thing? Dennis ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/16 "2019-06-07T17:57:54Z")
"In the US, architect John Lautner has been credited as one of the first to come up with an infinity pool design in the early 1960s. He included infinity pools in various residential projects, and also created the vanishing-edge pool in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971). " I just watched the scene and I don’t think Bambi and Thumper’s pool is a vanishing edge pool at all. When they are not splashing around it has 1 to 2 inches of freeboard. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/17 "2019-06-07T19:03:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Was this question triggered by the news about the [Insanity Pool](https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/06/the-worlds-first-360-degree-infinity-pool-is-coming-to-london/)? Um, how do you get out of that pool?! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/18 "2019-06-07T19:05:58Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > Um, how do you get out of that pool?! That darker section in the middle goes down to a lower level. You swim down there, and then step to the side, out of the column of water and onto the floor. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/19 "2019-06-07T21:14:52Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Holy crap! How many people have gone over that thing? As far as I’m aware, no-one’s died at Devil’s Pool. People have died after going over other places close to it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163/20 "2019-06-07T21:16:00Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > Um, how do you get out of that pool?! It’s just a concept, but from what I’ve read, something like a conning tower rises up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-infinity-pools-become-a-thing/835163.md?page=2)