Is "flipper" really the wrong word?

[Oldbear]

I understand that fish have fins and seals (among other marine creatures) have flippers, but clearly humans are neither?

Since seal, whales and otters are mammal with flippers, I see us mammalian humans using flippers more appropriate then fish's fins. But tradition is a hard horse to buck.

When I hear the term flipper my mind immediately go back to my childhood favorite TV show.

 

[miked]

if you dive in feet
read pressure in psi

you really should wear flippers.

But... I put my feet in my flippers!

 

[tracydr]

My mind goes to mono fin or the dolphin Flipper when I hear the word flipper.

 

[Skittl1321]

This thread has me now singing Little Mermaid songs

"Flipping your fins you don't get too far..."

 

[agilis]

A fin is a US five dollar bill.

A flipper is a speculative real estate reseller.

 

[kelemvor]

I don't see why anyone cares. A fin is a flipper by definition. The other words mentioned "oxygen" etc.. those make sense to complain about since it's not the same thing. Why would a dive instructor go to such trouble to teach people what is 100% just a personal preference.

 

[boulderjohn]

I once sat through a week-long scuba marketing workshop put on by the president and owner of a major scuba agency. He also owns several very profitable dive shops, and he is currently using his position in the agency to make affiliated dive shops as profitable as possible. In the workshop, he advocated using non-standard names for most key items in diving gear. For example, his sales staff does not use the word "regulator." IIRC, the preferred term is "air delivery device." As he explained it, his preferred terms carry a subtle hint related to diver safety, sort of like subliminal advertising. He also said that if a student first encounters scuba through your operation and visits other stores to check out gear sales, when they use those terms, the other store's personnel won't know what they are talking about and will act confused. As a consequence, the new diver will assume that store's personnel are not very knowledgeable, and they will be more likely to return to your store.

I believe (not sure) that all the official materials from that agency now use those terms, so you may be hearing them soon.

EDIT: I misremembered. They call it an "Air Delivery System."

 

[tracydr]

I've always wondered if flippers are a regional thing. I've noticed that divers in Asia seem to use the term frequently.
Dive terms are certainly regional. I read Verna Van Schaik's book and she uses the term dvs for regulator. I couldn't figure out what she was talking about for quite awhile.

 

[agilis]

I once sat through a week-long scuba marketing workshop put on by the president and owner of a major scuba agency. He also owns several very profitable dive shops, and he is currently using his position in the agency to make affiliated dive shops as profitable as possible. In the workshop, he advocated using non-standard names for most key items in diving gear. For example, his sales staff does not use the word "regulator." IIRC, the preferred term is "air delivery device." As he explained it, his preferred terms carry a subtle hint related to diver safety, sort of like subliminal advertising. He also said that if a student first encounters scuba through your operation and visits other stores to check out gear sales, when they use those terms, the other store's personnel won't know what they are talking about and will act confused. As a consequence, the new diver will assume that store's personnel are not very knowledgeable, and they will be more likely to return to your store.

I believe (not sure) that all the official materials from that agency now use those terms, so you may be hearing them soon.

Disgusting. A con artist targeting the most vulnerable. He should have been confronted and shouted down.

 

[mdb]

Disgusting. A con artist targeting the most vulnerable. He should have been confronted and shouted down.

The old NASDS tactics.