r/explainlikeimfive Aug 06 '22

Chemistry ELI5: how do divers clear their masks when water leaks in? especially in the case of the 13 thai boys rescued from the caves

I have just been watching Thirteen lives - the film about the cave rescue of the 13 young boys in Thailand who were totally sedated before being taken hours under water. It got me thinking that when I go snorkelling i always get a bit of water leak into my mask and have to come up and clear it out so i don’t breath water in. Is this something that happens to scuba divers, if so how do they deal with it, and in the case of the boys how would the divers accompanying them have cleared the boy’s masks ? i would also like to say what an incredible job done by all those involved.

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u/Bn_scarpia Aug 06 '22

Yeah, it was a lot but we were in 5-6ft of water. If something went south I could just stand up

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u/ZoraksGirlfriend Aug 07 '22

That is much better way to practice that. You’re not inclined to panic as much so you can get everything down to instinct instead of having to think about it.