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Floating · HISTORY & CURIOSITY

The Strange History of Floating: John C. Lilly and the Isolation Tank

The Simple Float Team · 23 October 2026 · 4 min read

A scientist wanted to know what the brain would do if the world stopped interrupting it. So he built a tank. Floating has a rather unusual origin story.

A question about consciousness

In the 1950s, John C. Lilly explored sensory isolation while working at the US National Institute of Mental Health. His question was whether the brain needed constant stimulation from the outside world to remain conscious and active.

In a later interview, Lilly described reducing sound, light, touch and temperature cues as far as possible. This was an experiment in neuroscience, rather than the comfortable wellness experience most people mean by floating today.

The early tank was no spa appointment

The early equipment involved immersion in water and breathing apparatus. Lilly and his colleagues had practical problems to solve, including the breathing mask and temperature regulation. The familiar image of somebody lying effortlessly on salty water in a private pod came later.

The aim was to reduce incoming sensations. It was never literally possible to remove every sensation: the body and mind still had plenty going on.

From isolation experiments to floating

Over time, flotation equipment evolved toward the experience familiar today: warm water, concentrated Epsom salt for buoyancy, and an environment with fewer distractions. Instead of being immersed with breathing equipment, a guest lies supported at the surface.

That change matters. The history of a laboratory method is interesting, but a contemporary float session is a different setting, with a different purpose and practical arrangements.

The history takes some unusual turns

Lilly later became known for dolphin communication research and personal explorations involving psychedelic drugs. Those strands belong to his biography; they are not instructions for floating and do not establish the benefits of a modern session.

It is possible to find the history fascinating without treating every theory or personal account as scientific evidence.

What remains today

Modern floating offers an opportunity to experience an unusually quiet environment. You do not have to solve the mystery of consciousness, clear every thought, or have a profound revelation. Curiosity is enough.

At Simple Float, we develop and build the float pods used in our centre. Kiryl, our general manager and engineer, works on their design and technical systems. There is a surprising amount of engineering behind an hour with very little happening.

We also create float pods for home and business use. The setting has changed considerably since those early experiments, while the interest in what happens when distractions fall away remains.

Explore floating at Simple Float →

Sources

John C. Lilly, OMNI interview: his account of the question behind sensory isolation.

Charlie Williams (2019), On modified human agents: archival historical research on Lilly at NIMH.

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