If you ever enjoy experimenting with babies, this is how they will act when lowered into a pool. They will stand (or sit) on the bottom, holding their breath.
Having a tea party is much easier before you realize the danger consciously.
There's something I don't understand in this statement and in GP's story: when you stay static in the water, provided you don't carry extra weight, you just naturally go up and float to the surface. If you want to stay down, you have to actively move in order to counter Archimedes' force.
The reaction of babies is therefore perfectly adapted: stay calm, hold breath, wait until your lower density brings you back to the surface. Chaotic moves that counter this and burn your blood oxygen is actually what makes you drown yourself.
I think it depends on your density. If I exhale, I will sink. This is an item of curiosity to my wife, who has to work to stay underwater, even after exhaling completely. For more:
> There's something I don't understand in this statement and in GP's story: when you stay static in the water, provided you don't carry extra weight, you just naturally go up and float to the surface. If you want to stay down, you have to actively move in order to counter Archimedes' force.
If you've got a lungful of air. Exhale first, and most people will sink like a stone.
My Dad had a trick, which I've done a few times myself as an adult, where he'd hyperventilate for a bit to get his blood heavily oxygenated, then exhale fully and just lie quietly on the bottom of the pool for a minute or so. (In the shallow end, so he only needed to stand up to breathe.) It's surprisingly soothing; after reading this thread, though, I'm not sure I'd do it at a public pool to avoid freaking out the lifeguard, and I certainly wouldn't teach any kids to do it.
(Floatation also depends a lot on your body fat percentage. Babies are very chubby, so they float, but I can imagine that a real lean kid in the middle of a growth spurt wouldn't be so buoyant.)
Actually, if you're carrying extra weight, you're more likely to float-fat is less dense than water. If you're skin, bones and muscle, you may very well sink without a breath of air.
I sank until I put on weight when I was about 19. Prior to that, with full lungs, I would reach buoyancy with my head about 6 inches under the surface. With no air, I sank like a rock. Now, with much more muscle and fat, I can float at the surface as long as I have some air.
Having a tea party is much easier before you realize the danger consciously.