Every man’s home is his castle.
You come and go as you please, enjoy the fresh air, take in all that you own. You’re king of your domain.
Typically though, those homes are on land. But for one professor, he made his castle in a place you typically wouldn’t spend your long days and nights relaxing in – under water. And he didn’t leave it for months, breaking a world record in the process.
Professor Joseph Dituri, also known as “Dr. Deep Sea”, had a goal – to spend 100 days underwater, without depressurization.
Dituri, a 55-year old professor in Florida, made his temporary home nearly 30-feet below the surface of Key Largo. He broke the Guinness World Record on Day 73. But he kept on living underwater until Day 100.
Dituri dives outside of the lodge he spent 100 days in.
“It was never about the record,” Dituri told reporters, after he had gotten his land legs back.
“(The experiment) was about extending human tolerance for the underwater world and for an isolated, confined, extreme environment.”
Dituri even made sure to keep teaching his students at the University of South Florida – he just did it from underwater. An avid scuba diver, Dituri is also a retired U.S. Naval Officer, and has a degree in biomedical engineering.
Dituri said his aim was to learn more about how well humans can live in a pressurized environment. In between teaching his students, he also spent his days conducting experiments and tests underwater.
A psychologist and a psychiatrist monitored Dituri to test how well his mental well-being handled the underwater lodgings. His time was spent at the Jules’ Undersea Lodge.
Professor Joseph Dituri gives an interview while living underwater.
Keeping healthy was important. According to the Associated Press, Dituri also made sure to do daily pushups, take daily naps and eat meals high in protein. Those meals were typically eggs and salmon, which he cooked in a microwave.
Prior to his record breaking exit from the lodge, he tweeted, “This week is World Oceans Week, something by now you all know holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been living in (the lodge) for the past 97 days. My time undersea has reaffirmed my love, care and curiosity about our oceans. They give us so much, and we need to do the same for them.”
Dituri greets his friends and reporters, after having spent 100 days living underwater. Photos from the Marine Resources Development Foundation.
The record was previously held by U.S. biologists, Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain, who spent 73 days underwater.
Dituri knows how important his time underwater was for science.
I’m humbled that my curiosity for discovery has led me here,” he said.
“My goal from day 1 has been to inspire—not only for generations to come—but for scientists around the globe who study life undersea and how the human body functions when in extreme environments,” Dituri wrote on Instagram.
He doesn’t plan to stop reaching for new heights in the name of science. This coming fall, Dituri will fly on a modified plane, where he can experience zero gravity. According to his website, “It’s all part of (Dituri’s) dream to become a civilian astronaut and travel into space by 2026.
“The record is a small bump and I really appreciate it,” Dituri said. “I’m honored to have it, but we still have more science to do.”
Below, watch Dituri give a tour of his underwater home, as well as a news segment on his time underwater.
