Drownproofing

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Drownproofing is a method for surviving in water disaster scenarios without sinking or drowning. It is also infamous as a class once offered at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Drownproofing was developed by swimming coach Fred Lanoue, known to students as Crankshaft because of his limping gait. His method was so successful that it gained national recognition, and Georgia Tech soon made it a requirement for graduation. The US Navy also took interest, and adopted it as part of their standard training. It is claimed that during Lanoue's time teaching at Tech from 1936 to 1964, he taught drownproofing to some 20,000 students.

Once they had mastered the Drownproofing technique, students learned how to stay afloat with their wrists and ankles bound, swim 50 yards (46 m) underwater, and retrieve diving rings from the bottom of the pool using their teeth.

Lanoue published a book called Drownproofing, a New Technique for Water Safety in 1963.

Georgia Tech dropped the course from its curriculum in 1987, as part of a downsizing of its physical education and athletics department.

Elementary schools in Anne Arundel County, Maryland run a drownproofing program at local swimming pools as a part of its Outdoor Education Program. The program, taken by fifth-grade students, also consists of class discussions and written work.

In Mexico City, Eduardo Alcantara uses Drownproofing as a basis for swimming instruction with adult learners. By learning to float first, his students have the confidence to make rapid progress and Eduardo claims a near 100% success rate.

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