Christopher Swain is planning to go where no man has dared to go in a long time.
No, not the moon: The sludgy, toxic, once gonorrhea-infested waters of Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal.
Swain is prepared to put his body on the line today as part of the stunt, which he's performing on Earth Day to raise awareness about pollution. Though he is aware that the infamously disgusting canal is "spiked with a whole witches' brew of contaminants," including heavy metals, mercury, coal tar, and a heady mix of "dead bodies, bodily fluids, guns, and disease-causing microbes," CBS reports, Swain says the risks are worth it.
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"It may be crazy to swim in the canal," Swain told CityLab. "But what's crazier is that the Gowanus Canal is so messed up."
When it comes to swimming bodies of water, Swain is no novice — he swam the entire length of both the Columbia River (1,243 miles) and the Hudson River (315 miles) for various awareness projects — but for the Gowanus' comparatively short 1.8-mile journey he'll wear tons of protective gear, including a sealed drysuit, gloves, goggles, and a cap. He also will take pains to make sure his head doesn't go underwater, and will employ a modified breaststroke to prevent any of the toxic water from entering his lungs (shudder).
Godspeed, Christopher. May you return without growing gills.
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