Swimming is one of the best exercises and activities there is to do in the summer and all year-round. While some people never learn how to swim (it’s difficult when you’re landlocked), it’s a good use of time and energy to protect yourself should a trip to a waterfront area goes awry. But then, on a positive note, swimming has a multitude of positive aspects for the body and the mind. If you don’t have access to a pool, figure out the best way to get your swim on at a local spot. Or, start building pool wall viewing panels in your home swimming pool so everyone can see your progress.
- Swimming is a better physical activity than walking or biking. An hour of swimming can burn 650 calories.
- Swimming actually utilizes all the body’s major muscles.
- Swimming can help reduce stress.
- Swimming is also low-impact, so it can be a great exercise for rehabilitation.
- Even the smallest industries have a thriving private swimming pool industry.
- The fastest swim stroke is freestyling.
- The slowest swim stroke is the breaststroke.
- The Olympics use a 50-meter pool for the heats.
- Short course pools are 20 to 25 meters long.
- Swimming can still be dehydrating, so you must drink water while swimming.
- People sweat while swimming.
- According to ancient drawings, people have been swimming since as far back as 2,500 BCE.
- Swimming became an Olympic sport in 1896.
- Women could compete as swimmers in the Olympics starting in 1912.
- The first woman to swim the entire English Channel was Gertrude Ederle in 1926.
- In the surge of American consumerism post-WWII, residential swimming pools became desirable.
- Synchronized swimming was added to the Olympic Games in 1984.
- A pool was added to the White House in 1975 by President Gerald Ford.
- The first man to swim the English Channel was Matthew Webb in 1875.
- The first ocean liner to have a swimming pool and gym was the Titanic.
- Supposedly, the largest swimming pool ever built was in Moscow post-Stalin.
- The longest swimming pool in the world is in Casablanca, Morocco, and is filled with seawater. It’s also seven times bigger than a football field.
- The world’s deepest swimming pool is located near Brussels, Belgium.
- The largest swimming pool in the world is in Algarroba, Chile.
- 65% of Americans can’t swim.
- Freedivers can hold their breath for up to ten minutes.
- The first swimming goggles were actually constructed from tortoise shells.
- An insult used in ancient Greece was to accuse someone of not being able to run or swim.
- A noble skill of a Japanese samurai was the swimming ability.
- The first swimming book, written by Nikolaus Wynmann, was published in 1538 and was titled “A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming.”
- The first bikini was invented in 1946 in Paris.
