We All Live In A Leather Submarine.... For A Few Hours. Invention 3/4

     The invention of the submarine was actually very interesting. One of the earlier prototypes had oars on it through airtight seals. They probably looked ridiculous, until Cornelius Drebbel finally got it right in 1620.
     Let's start from the beginning, though. It started with Leonardo Da Vinci, but he kept his plans to himself. He didn't want war to become more terrifying than it was at that time. That was sometime before 1578, when William Bourne, a British mathematician, drew up plans for a submarine. Neither of their ships were built, but in 1620, Cornelius Drebbel built a leather rowboat with oars. The oars were on either side, like a normal rowboat, but where the oars came out of a boat were sealed to be airtight. Only twelve people could ride in it at a time. Here's a little bit more about Drebbel and his invention:

• Drebbel was an engineer for the British navy.
• He was the first to discuss the problem of fresh air being accessible underwater.
• This submarine could only go underwater about fifteen feet.
• It could stay down for only a few hours at a time.

    The submarine was first used for warfare in 1776 and was modified by David Bushnell, who was actually from the U.S. He called it 'Turtle'. It was a one man little sub that was made out of wood and was powered by hand turned propellers. It was used during the American Revolution. They partially submerged to attach explosives to the hulls of ships. The Turtle worked, but the explosives didn't because they were underwater.
     In conclusion, the submarine was a great invention because it was very difficult to make it work and to design it. It would've had to stay underwater with no leaks and a constant flow of fresh air. Once again, think about where we would be without the submarine. We couldn't fix underwater oil spills, study the Great Barrier Reef and other underwater life, and we wouldn't know a lot about our history, such as the Titanic. We would know about it, but we couldn't have gone underwater and gotten little itty bitty pieces to learn more about it.