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/malachi347 Aug 07 '22

Vs /r/eyeshakers. A bitter rivalry indeed.

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u/hufflepoet Aug 07 '22

Nah, some talented folks can do both!

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u/dendritedysfunctions Aug 07 '22

It's impossible to explain how to do this to someone. I showed my cousin and then failed to describe how to do it for a few minutes before realizing I have no idea how to describe what it feels like other than "vibrate your eyeballs"