Could We Live Underwater?

Dive into the future of living! Discover uncharted realms beneath Earth's surface. From underwater houses to record-breaking habitats, explore the potential of ocean colonization. Watch now to explore new frontiers!

[TeamOT]

Suscribing to Simon's channels is like a never ending game of Whack-a-Mole.

[RolandHazoto]

Now the theme to Sealab 2021 is going to be stuck in my head for a week until I inevitably binge the show again.

[kosmosXcannon]

Subnautica taught me living under water could be a terrifying experience. Especially in areas with no light.

[halletts]

I was a technician on the Aquarius habitat located at Couch Reef in Tavernier, FL for 5 years. You just barely scratched the surface of the problems living underwater for weeks at a time. Logistics is a nightmare to say the least. Great video though for the history and future of living underwater.

[olencone]

omg, that merman Simon graphic in the end-credits was a hilarious surprise haha! ^_^

On topic tho, I'm genuinely surprised that more effort hasn't gone into oceanic settlements. As China's island-building (and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia's commercial island building) has shown, it's a fairly simple way to artificially inflate your borders, create usable territory, or just extend your military's reach. Even some of the surface-oriented sea-steading proposals (that are FAR less damaging to the local ecosystems than dumping tons of stuff to build an island) could go a long way to alleviating the impact of sea-level rise that's already threatening several island nations.

[AdrianWright]

It occurs to me that there is a third alternative beyond just space or underwater, and that is underground - we definitely have a lot of ground to go under! It's more accessible than underwater, more maintainable than underwater, much safer than underwater (but not entirely without risks if you count cave-ins), no adjustment is needed when coming back above ground (apart from getting used to daylight I guess), it's relatively easy to expand the habitat, and we already have all the equipment needed to construct such habitats. Heat and drinkable water is already there too. Plus there are already hundreds of caves around the world that could be utilised if drilling/excavating isn't preferred. Human cultures have lived underground before, and we could do it again. Only better.

[PeachMde]

Simon as a Merman is the clip art I’ve been waiting for. 😂

[Stukov]

You don't necessarily need to have the same inside as outside. Submarines and deep sea submersibles have a 1 ATM inside pressure. Yes, it makes the engineering of building the habitat more difficult, but it's doable, and makes a lot of other things much easier.

[engineeredlifeform]

Being a child in the 70s, I was fascinated by Jacques Cousteau, and all the futuristic publications of the time foresaw undersea habitats and cities. Now we're hearing the same predictions about Mars, .... and well, we've heard it all before. Being able to do something, and scaling it up are very different things.

[mbcase]

Living ON TOP of the water is a more feasible concept, and not even mentioned.
Such structures could easily contain underwater areas also, and no need for increased pressure if all areas are open or vented to the earths atmosphere.
Pretty much like building on land, except some cool views at lower levels, certainly better than underground views!

[ronaldlebeck]

I find myself being reminded of the sci-fi TV show, "Seaquest DSV" -- they had some large undersea colonies and outposts. Although I doubt anything like that could or would be built, any time soon, it's a cool concept.

[ilajoie]

I'm imagining a Rapture type city. Hopefully it includes gene splicing for the fun of it

[jasontoddman]

One thing you failed to point out is that under sufficient pressure oxygen not only becomes more flammable but also becomes literally toxic to the human body after about 0.5 bar of partial pressure. This is entirely separate from and in addition to nitrogen narcosis.

[mikeygallos]

The Whistlerverse is expanding underwater now.

[Real_Robotic_Engineer]

I used to live on a submarine while being in the Navy. We did have have fire in the way of a lighter for smoking cigarettes and cigars. The air onboard is the same mixture as on land with nitrogen and other trace gases. My submariner brothers and sister's have been living underwater longer than a 100 days at a time as well during deployment.

[tophers]

I didn't realize I was subscribed to this Simon channel.

[aurawolf]

While I'm personally far more interested in the possibility of space as a Sci-fi fan... I think the idea of building underwater is a good one!

I mean... an underwater city has the potential to give us a LOT of space since it could theoretically be built high enough to poke out of the water.

Unfortunately... as we're just squishy little meat bags... it's a bit of a problem.

[kevinjhonson]

It’s a full time job watching all the vids he puts out.

[anonymousrex]

I think it will ultimately come down to costs and risks... artificial islands and floating cities are currently cheaper and carry fewer risk of fatalities. If you are underwater and your home/colony or whatever springs a leak (or worse, implodes if it is deep enough), your odds of survival are much lower than if you are somewhere on the surface.

[Gersti]

3:55 did Simon just casually time travel by 10 years?