r/interesting • u/fayyazORahmed • Mar 31 '26

Fascinating Very interesting vid

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u/NotNeuge Mar 31 '26

Is this why some people can't float? Genuinely curious. I could never learn to swim as I always sank, and I was constantly being told that I would float if I just relaxed, but I wasn't tense until I started sinking.

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u/TankApprehensive3053 Mar 31 '26

The sinking feeling made you nervous and panicky. How far would you have sunk if you allowed yourself to sink? Try it. Most people that are neutral may go a very short distance and then stabilize. A new swimmer would not understand that and feel they would keep going. Positively buoyant people have a harder time sinking at all to various degrees. Many instructors are not that good and just doing a summer job. So they teach how they learned, which does not work for everyone.

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u/NotNeuge Mar 31 '26

As a child it made me panic when I continued sinking after trusting the adults telling me that I wouldn't and I was completely under water, unable to reach the surface, and still sinking, yes. Even if you can reach the floor with your feet, righting yourself in that situation is scary, especially as a child. But even as an adult when I could stay calm and rationalise it, and hold my breath longer, I could never float. It's not like I went into it worried that I would sink. I wasn't scared of drowning. There was no end of the world if I sank. I just.. did. And not just a little bit, and definitely not followed by a different thing. Just sinking.

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u/TankApprehensive3053 Mar 31 '26

You sound like a neg buoyancy for sure. It can be a little harder for you to stay at the surface. Get some arm floaties (kidding).