If you’re talking about Radiohead, “The Bends” is a good thing. Quite the contrary for diving. When a diver surfaces too fast, the pressure of the water changing around them as they go, Nitrogen in their body ekes out as bubbles that can cause everything from discomfort to death depending on where those bubbles go. But this isn’t a problem that started with the invention of the Aqua Lung. The bends have a fossil record that goes back over 220 million years.

Brain, spinal cord, blood vessels – we often think about the bends in relation to soft tissues. But the affliction also causes lesions on bones and around joints. That has left a mark on