Oct. 18, 1962 - Jacques-Yves Cousteau (pictured) said in London today that French engineers were building a village of prefabricated houses to enable a group of men to live underwater for weeks. The 45-year-old French undersea explorer said the village would be submerged next spring. He said it would be large enough to hold 24 men. Speaking at the opening of the Second World Congress of Underwater activities, he spoke of the possible evolution of a new kind of man, “homo aquaticus,” over the next 50 years. Such a man might eventually be able to live under water, the explorer said. Scientists at NASA were working on an artificial gill, he said. The gill would be a cartridge of chemicals fitted under an armpit to allow the blood to circulate through it. It would allow the user to regenerate his blood with oxygen without breathing.
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