Why You Wouldn't Last a Week in the Brooklyn Bridge Caissons (1872)

Imagine working beneath the East River in 1872, inside a massive wooden caisson filled with compressed air. There was no modern safety equipment. No understanding of decompression sickness. No reliable treatment if the pressure damaged your body. Every shift meant descending deep beneath the river, digging through mud, rock, and enormous boulders while working in an environment where the air pressure could become deadly. In 1872, dozens of workers at the Brooklyn Bridge caisson suffered from what was then called “caisson disease” or “the bends.” Some were permanently injured, while others died. This is what a week inside the Brooklyn Bridge caissons might have felt like — the exhausting labor, the darkness, the pressure, the danger, and the terrifying journey back to normal air.