Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 265, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 November 1919 — Spider Is Credited With Being Original Inventor of Familiar Diving Bell [ARTICLE]

Spider Is Credited With Being Original Inventor of Familiar Diving Bell

It is said that the diving bell was invented’ by the spider; at least, that it was used by that Insect long before hydraulic engineers made one for the same purpose. The diving bell is a cup-shaped body, with an open end that is let into the water. The air is caught in the bell and keeps the water from rising beyond a certain level at any specified depth, permitting anyone inside to breathe. improvement of the diving bell known as the caisson is a huge pipe which has compartments, into which air is pumped from above. The spider’s bell is filled more in this manner than in any other. The spider’s abdomen is so made that a bubble of air can be caught underneath it and carried into its structure. In this little water house the spider spends the winter and rears its young. The house also acts as a lair from which the spider, known as the naiad, can jump on unsuspecting prey. Another peculiar thing about the naiads Ts^that 7 they never get wet. They have thousands of small , hairs’ on their bodies - which prevent the air from being washed off and which protect them.