7. Someone Swam the Entire Length of Newtown Creek

On December 23rd, 2015, Clean Water Advocate Christopher Swain swam the entire length of the canal, thus becoming the first man in history to do so. Donning a full-body protective suit, goggles, earplugs, and swim cap, Swain took on the fetid, extremely noxious waters of the canal in order to draw attention to the polluted waterway. As a clean water advocate, Swain has had a history of swimming in waterways to raise awareness; he swam the entire 315-mile length of the Hudson in 2004, and took on the Gowanus Canal two months before swimming the Newtown Creek. Despite his record for swimming in infested waterways, Swain admitted that, “It was probably the most disgusting swim [he’d] ever done.”