Cozumel, Mexico. July 26, 2008.

A breathing tube will let you swim or float effortlessly. Finding a dollar bill on the bottom of the Atlantic was as big a surprise as if I’d seen Wilbur Shaw pacing a tricycle race. It was in a tangle of seaweed 10 feet down in the clear water of Key West, Florida. I was snorkeling along, surface-diving occasionally to pick up a shell, when I saw it.

Why. Even when you don’t find sunken treasure, snorkeling is a lot of fun. More of these gadgets than ever are being used this summer. The purpose is not to make a submarine out of you, churning along with all but the tube tip submerged. Instead, the idea is to let you breathe normally while swimming or floating face down.

Exerpted from ‘What You Can Do with a Snorkel’ by Denis Sneigr. Appearing in Popular Science, July 1953.