What was the screaming Jacques Cousteau heard on his dive in Greece?

Answer 1

Assuming the incident actually took place it could very well have been attributible to what Cousteau had dubbed "the rapture of the deep", this is a condition related to nitrogen narcosis whereby most gasses breathed under pressure produce a narcotic effect on the brain. Hallucinations, loss of conciousness, manic laughter, terror or death are all possible effects from the condition which generally kicks in at a depth of 3om (1oo ft) with mild effects (often likened to drinking one alcholic beverage for each 3o ft below 1oo ft) increasing in severity as depth increases.

Divers attempt to combat this phenomena by using mixtures of gas with less chemically reactive constituents (such as helium) which is why in some old deep sea videos you might hear the entire crew of a research vessel speaking like chipmunks (and slathering all their food in kechup because they can't taste much else). There are limits to how much we can compensate under such pressures however and oxygen toxicity (which may pose long lasting health problems) is also another concern for the explorers of the deep.

I have heard this incident supposedly took place during a very deep dive, and there are those who like to attribute this tale to the existence of "Hell". While I suppose there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in my philosophy, and it would certainly be a really cool story (hey what if it was Hell, or some Great Old One or some type of ancient creature?!) I attempt first to seek out more mundane, entirely plausible explanations. They comfort me so.

Best of luck to you readers and do look into nitrogen narcosis or "The Rapture of the Deep" (trust Costuea to come up with such a great, poetic name), some of the stories from deep sea divers are truly fascinating.