Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/03/wealthy-adventurer-just-became.html
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I’ve touched the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean plenty of times.
The bottom of the pool at the kiddie end is still the bottom.
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Isn’t that where all the whale poop goes?
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Unless he physically touched it with his body, it doesn’t count.
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“Wealthy Adventurer” – they usually are.
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Not wealthy adventurers are known as ‘couch surfing bums’
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Wait, I think I’ve seen this movie. When he reaches the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he wakes up Cthulhu and we all die of terror.
It’s either that, or it turns out that there are aliens made of water down there that want us to love each other. It’s one or the other.
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If we have to be stuck in a movie, then my vote is for the Abyss.
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Capitalism is fucking weird, dude.
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Yay! Another ultra-wealthy narcissist puts extremely fragile ecologies at risk to (temporarily) have one more thing to brag about than a few other ultra-wealthy narcissists.
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Hence:
"The National Geographic Society began as a club for an elite group of academics and wealthy patrons interested in travel and exploration.[4] On January 13, 1888, 33 explorers and scientists gathered at the Cosmos Club, a private club then located on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., to organize “a society for the increase and diffusion of geographicalknowledge.” -Wiki
(Note: A bunch of old rich white dudes in contrast to today’s NG Explorers.)
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When I look at the people who usually dominate the news, I generally vote for option #1.
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Would it be wrong to just leave him down there?
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Apparently it floats, at least for a while. My sister adopted an Orca for me a few years ago, well it’s only on a yearly basis. The annual newsletter this year (it’s a program of the Vancouver Aquarium) had a story about collecting poop to study something. So they go in a boat, and watch carefully, and then scoop it up.
In addition to the science gained from the study, it means less poop on the ocean floor (though I suspect other animals make use of it before it gets to the bottom.
I’m sure one day, all whale adopters will be made to scoop up after their whale.
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You didn’t notice the deep pressure rubber boot at the bottom of the vehicle? When they get to the bottom, he puts his foot in there, and thus can touch the bottom. At those depths, I don’t think it’s fair to expect him to do it with a bare foot.
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And yet how many public schools still have to hold bake sales to get new books or supplies?
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Life isn’t fair; no fucks (nor credit) given.
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On one hand this sounds cool for the aforementioned reasons and can I really hate someone for doing something they want to do with money they earned? On the other hand capitalism is fucking weird. I definitely think this is a better use of his money than say trying to manipulate markets to make more money. I mean science gets advanced presumably lots of engineers and the like are getting paid along the way for this guy to achieve what he wants to achieve.
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James Cameron has also done a lot for oceanic exploration, he’s been keen on experiencing deep sea dives himself and has funded a lot of stuff himself. So yes this is definitely a vanity project but as long as this opens the doors for researchers to continue their work then i think everyone wins.
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Frankly, if good science gets done on this joker’s dime, I’m okay with it.
(Also, he named his submersible after a Culture warship. At least he has a sense of humor.)
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