Thank Jacques Cousteau for Scuba Diving

Scuba stands for self-contained breathing apparatus. It is the method for breathing underwater with a dive tank full of air. Modern divers can thank oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau for inventing the aqualung in 1943.

He is the grandfather of scuba diving and is responsible for bringing the wonders of the ocean and diving into the living rooms of Americans in the 1960s with his TV show, "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau."

Many advances have been made in scuba diving in the decades since. While scuba diving used to appeal to young men with a strong sense of adventure, today it attracts a diverse following -- men and women of all ages; teenagers; and entire families. PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, reports that 1 million new scuba divers are certified every year.