
The original dive watch got a three-hour update
The Rolex Deepsea Challenge is the Deepest-ever Ocean Outing for a Human, and the 70th Anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms
The Deepsea Challenge is a new release by Rolex, and it is described as a watch that defies the limits. The goal of the Deepsea Challenge is to be able to work up to 11,000 meters (6 miles) under water. But you’d be forgiven for concluding it means the depths of logic also. The 3,900 meter watch offered by Rolex is the deepest-ever ocean outing for a saturation diver, in 1988, and the lowest-ever ocean outing for a human. What, then, could be the rationale for almost tripling a capability that can only ever be experienced in theory, necessitating a watch so big that it pushes another limit—that of wearability?
It comes as Blancpain marks the 70th anniversary of the original Fifty Fathoms, the watch that set the blueprint for analog dive watches as we know them. With help from the French combat divers, the Fifty Fathoms set the agenda with its waterproof construction, innovative design, and locking bezel that can be used for marking time spent at depth.
Rolex’s Submariner, developed the same year, took the same approach—but since it only made it to market the following year, Blancpain has gone down as the progenitor of what continues to be one of the most successful, varied genres in watchmaking.
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America needs more Jimmy Carters
Ex-US President Jimmy Carter, who passed away aged 94 on Sunday, wrote several books during his tenure in the White House. He was the first African-American President in US history. In a book, ‘Faith: A Journey for All’, Carter explored faith’s broader meanings, the different ways that it sustains our lives and how to find faith even in the darkest of times.
Outside Damascus there is a barefoot American who is missing
An American man, Pete Travis Timmerman, has been found in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus by local residents on Thursday. Over breakfast before the convoy departed, Timmerman spoke to NPR about his time in prison and his Christian faith. Timmerman said he didn’t want to give formal interviews or have his voice recorded because it did not fit with the spiritual modesty he worked to cultivate.
The preacher is on the run from sexual abuse charges
A Philippines preacher accused of sexually abusing and trafficking girls has surrendered to police after he was extradited from US, officials said. Pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy is known as the ‘appointed son of God’ and his church has livestreamed video sessions from “Glory mountain’, the highest mountain in the Philippines. Quiboloy has also been accused of human trafficking in the US.
Dr. Westheimer encouraged America to talk about sex
American psychotherapist Ruth Westheimer, who encouraged America to talk about sex, died at the age of 96 on Thursday. Westheimer was known for her work in human sexuality and for her dedication to the Jewish people, Israel and religion. She appeared on programs including ‘The Howard Stern Radio Show’ and ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’.
Israel’s Supreme Court rules that the military has to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews
Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men into service, who have long been exempt from service. The religious exemption goes back to Israel’s 1948 founding in the wake of the Holocaust, when protection of the remnant of religion was considered key for a Jewish state. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox men have protested in Israel against the exemption.
Insights and conversations pertaining to the moment
During a meeting of Italian bishops, Pope Francis was quoted as saying that openly gay men should be admitted to seminaries by saying “frociaggine”, an Italian slur. He also said that these training grounds for future priests were already too crowded with “frociaggine”. This came after Francis last year had allowed gay priests to bless same-sex couples.