The line about standing there with your mouth open after 11 years hit me hard because that was me too, except I was on the other side of it. I used to be the guy who swore by spit, would've argued with anybody who told me to use gel, mostly because my first dive instructor drilled it into us like it was gospel. Then one trip I ran out of spit patience and grabbed my buddy's defog bottle just to shut him up, and I couldn't believe how much clearer it was. I fought it for a while, told myself it was a fluke, but after a few more dives I had to admit I'd just been copying some old habit without ever testing it. Spit works okay if you're in a pinch, but it's never gonna beat actual defog and you already proved that yourself with the 40 minute run. Funny how much of what we do down there is just hand me down ritual dressed up as technique.

Did you really think all paper bends the same way?