Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist, explorer, author, and lecturer. In her illustrious career she has earned many honors, including being named by Time Magazine as as its first Hero for the Planet in 1998. She is National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence, as well as a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame and a Knight in the Netherlands’ Order of the Golden Ark. She was recently recognized in a very different venue. Sylvia Earle now has a LEGO figurine modeled after her.
The first thing you should know about Sylvia Earle is that she has a LEGO figurine modeled after her. One that has little yellow flippers instead of little yellow feet.
But you should also, if you don’t already, know many more things about Sylvia Earle. You should know that she has been a pioneer of deep-sea exploration—becoming, essentially, the maritime equivalent of an astronaut. You should know that she has spent more than 6,000 hours underwater, which is more than many fish can claim. And that, in 1986, she plunged down 1,000 meters (more than half a mile) into the ocean in a small little submarine, tying the world record for the deepest solo dive (a record set, incidentally, by her then-husband Graham Hawkes).