snorkeling can trace its roots back to 3000 bc, where evidence has shown that free divers in crete would farm underwater sponges, and sometimes employ reeds to breath while searching for prey.

later, alexander the great encouraged the development of the first diving bell, a massive contraption designed to trap a pocket of air when it was lowered into the water - the bell allowed divers to take breaths without returning all the way to the surface of the water.

nowadays, snorkeling equipment is commonly used by scuba divers when on the surface, or for search and rescue crews during diving operations.