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I came upon the Wikipedia entry for ‘caving’ while I was reading Confused’s post on the extent to which man can go to avoid containment in prison. I had always known the sport of exploring caves as ’spelunking’ (which I find to be a cool word) so naturally, I was curious why it was now referred to plain-Jane ‘caving’.
Clay Perry — an American caver of the 1940s — wrote about a group of men and boys who explored and studied caves throughout New England. This group referred to themselves as spelunkers. This is regarded as the first use of the word in the Americas. Throughout the 1950s, spelunking was the general term used for exploring caves in US English. It was used freely, without any positive or negative connotations, although only rarely outside the US.
In the 1960s, the term “spelunking” began to convey the idea of inexperienced cavers, using unreliable light sources and cotton clothing. In 1985, Steve Knutson (editor of American Caving Accidents) made the following distinction:
- “…Note that I use the term ’spelunker’ to denote someone untrained and unknowledgeable in current exploration techniques, and ‘caver’ for those who are.”
This sentiment is exemplified by bumper stickers and t-shirts displayed by many cavers: “Cavers rescue spelunkers”.
However, the kicker is when these ‘cavers’ in the writing field shed their professional and editorial constraints and dive headlong into the field of ’spelunking’. In fact, most of the times, they seem to do a better job at it too. Two examples come readily to mind and that ain’ t fair. But hey, we still love them, don’t we? Even if the blogging-spelunking analogy doesn’t stick, I still learnt something new. Who says Wikipedia is useless? For such random facts and trivia, it is a priceless resource.
Potholing refers to the act of exploring potholes, a word originating in the north of England for predominantly vertical caves. The term is often used as a synonym for caving, and outside the caving world there is a general impression that potholing is a more “extreme” version of caving.
Vertical caves, huh! I almost thought they were talking about splashing around in urban puddles. It would be a rage during the monsoons in Mumbai. But alas, these ‘potholes’ are the kinds that kids fall into and get rewarded with state scholarships. Why would someone do it for fun is beyond me but then humans are known to do crazy things; things that give a ‘rush’ or rather bring you closer to death are especially desirable.
by Patrix | on Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 at 4:57 pm | 
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September 6th, 2006 at 7:03 pm reply
Nice. Knowledge is gained. While I aware of the distinction between caving and spelunking, the history was something I was completly unaware of.
heh. But perhaps right now it would be more appropriate to carry a bumper sticker which says ”bloggers expose journalists” I live for the day when the opposite is true, that would mean blogging has truly arrived. Imagine TOI headline screaming;Amit Varma exposed! :)
(or Patrix for that matter)
September 6th, 2006 at 9:03 pm reply
ROTFL. I recently wrote about it here and here, btw.