If you're wondering who's buying all those luxury submarines, it turns out it's largely wealthy Middle Easterners. Essentially, it seems that while Westerners have the financial means to buy the subs, the laws in this part of the world make owning them extremely difficult. However, in Dubai -- home of The World, The Palm, and soon, Hydropolis -- the economy is booming, and people have the money to drop on blinged-out undersea transportation. Consequently, when sub-makers like Herve Jaubert want to sell their products, they set up shop in places like the UAE.

In a French accent that makes him sound all the more convincing, Jaubert -- the founder of Seahorse Submarines, which was recently snapped up by Dubai-based Exomos -- claims that "people might get bored with a boat because it is pretty much always the same, but with a submarine it is always an adventure to actually dive under the water." To that end, Jaubert is rapidly developing a host of small personal subs (ranging from $5 to $12 million) for the super-rich Arab market. Meanwhile, Jaubert is busily developing three highly-maneuverable subs for light tactical and surveillance work, as well as something called a "Scuba Jet," a hands-free, low-profile single-diver propulsion vehicle, which can provide 90 minutes of thrust at a speed of 3 knots.

Whether or not you think this is a wise move, one thing is clear: Dubai-ans sure love to pimp their subs!