Russians withdraw Lake Baikal record claim

The Russians have withdrawn their claim to have made the deepest freshwater submersion in Siberia's Lake Baikal after hitting bottom at just 1,580 metres (5,180 feet) - short of their planned touch-down at 1,680 metres (5,510 feet). According to Reuters, the mission led by scientist and Kremlin-backed Russian MP Artur …

[Anonymous Coward]

Crap record.

The problem is, you have to have access to a deep enough bit of fresh water.

It's not going to get beat by the Saudis for instance is it?

[Roger D. Parish]

Russians admitting failure? Priceless!

I find it encouraging that they are willing to admit that they did not accomplish what they had set out to do.

[Luther Blissett]

What's 331 feet out of 5510?

Pifflling is the answer. I'd have been tempted to claim the record and let the boffins discover an under-reading depth gauge (or piece of string, or laser range-finder, whatever).

Now say Litvenenko.

[Anonymous Coward]

If they're....

....going to make the sea bed theirs, then they're going to have to lie (sic) on it!

[Matt]

Record

I think this is the deepest fresh water lake in the world so without a visa no-one is going to break the record.

It is a beautiful area with more than a thousand species unique to the lake. The local fish is excellent and the locals (not the ultra strict orthodox splinter group) are very friendly, so well worth a visit!

[Steve]

@ Roger D. Parish

There was no Russian failure here, comrade.

Our evidence suggests that bourgeois-counter-revolutionary-subversives have been pumping water out of the lake to prevent it being deep enough to show the full capabilities of the People's Submersible.

[Anonymous Coward]

>without a visa

Get me a brick and a jet pack!

I'll have that record for Blighty!

[Austin Chamberlain]

@Roger D. Parish

"Russians admitting failure? Priceless!"

Yes, because government officials in the UK (and the US, etc etc) are renowned for admitting failure.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Russians admitting failure? Priceless!

Not really priceless... I think if you use a history book you will find many Russian mistakes... admitting failure is something that Merkins cant do.

(For some reason Merkins think the Ruski's are like them, they are as usual wrong.)

[Jonathan Richards]

@Luther Blissett

> What's 331 feet out of 5510?

6.0072595281306715063520871143376%, apparently.

I'm not sure why you're asking, though, because the discrepancy is 330 feet if you're silly enough to do the arithmetic on the rounded conversions into archaic units, or 100m = 328 feet if you work with metres.

If 6% is piffling, perhaps you'd like to remit that proportion of your income to an educational charity of your choice?

[michael]

this is a joke

"If 6% is piffling, perhaps you'd like to remit that proportion of your income to an educational charity of your choice?"

if you could name the lucky charity that is getting the 54p per mounth

(that is a joke for thouse of you 2 sow to work it out on your own)

[David Sidebotham]

See, I told you, I told you...

I said yesterday the Russians had extracted it all and they have just proven it.