Drinking and Eating Under Water and Comedy Diving

These “amazing” stunts are not quite as difficult as they would seem, and the knack can be acquired by almost anyone who can keep his head under water for a short time.

Drinking under water-The only equipment needed is a bottle of soda pop, preferably a red beverage or one of some other bright color that can be seen by the spectators. The performer dives and comes up so that the neck of the bottle is under water and the rest is above the surface in plain view of the spectators. The secret is to hold the mouth over one side of the open end of the bottle and blow air up the side of the bottle. This will force the soda pop out of the bottle, but it appears to the spectators that the swimmer is drinking it.

Eating under water-A small banana is the best “food” for this trick. Peel one end of the banana. Place the end in the mouth and keep pushing the rest of the banana against the mouth in such a way that the water cannot enter the mouth. Then nourish the empty banana peel before the audience.

Comedy Diving

Comedy dives are often the climax of indoor and outdoor swimming meets and water pageants. However, many of the truly effective comedy dives require little in the way of trained diving skill, and the youngster or teen-ager who can swim from the center of the pool to the side can participate in a comedy diving program and enjoy it. Rehearsals and the working out of the program are part of the participants’ fun, and the family with an outdoor pool can encourage its children, and probably the neighbors’, to provide an outdoor water circus that will be enjoyable for performers and audience alike.

In most instances the “build-up” and effectiveness of the performance of the “characters” can be increased by having an “announcer” who can personalize the show with references to local or family personalities. “Take-off’s” or impersonations of persons well known to the audience, or imitations of animals are usually good for a laugh. In most instances the bigger the “splash,” the more pleased the audience is liable to be.

The clown divers who performed at the World’s Fair and other professional shows had all the advantages of good equipment such as diving boards, diving towers, spotlights, and numerous colorful clown costumes, wigs, facial make-up, and professional training and natural diving ability.

However, the individual who possesses some gymnastic or acrobatic ability, who can perform a front, back, twisting, somersault or lay-out dive, who can pantomime with the “dead-pan” or other significant facial expressions, and who is not afraid to take a “beating” now and then will make the best clown diver.

Some young people make better “natural” diving clowns than others, and it appears to be a matter of personality rather than aquatic ability. Rolland Hill, director of safety services for the Newark, New Jersey, Chapter of the American Red Cross, who has done much work and research in this field of water activity, says, “I have seen many youngsters who were not particularly good swimmers, but had that daring ’show off’ characteristic common to some more than to others. On several occasions groups of these young people were very easily talked into a game of ‘Follow the Leader’ off a low diving board-which frequently included such simple clown dives as the ‘rocking chair,’ the ’statue,’ the ‘get acquainted,’ the ‘flying squirrel,’ the ‘cannon ball,’ the ‘neck,’ the ’sitting bull,’ etc. The game can readily be called a success when even the participants are laughing at themselves as well as at one another.”

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