Stefan Kanetis’s mother loved her life as a dancer, but paid a price for it when she was in her later years. The wear and tear on her body made it difficult for her to get around. Her doctor suggested swimming, but getting in and out of a pool would be very difficult. So Mr. Kanetis invented a pool with a floor that raised and lowered. The end result was this amazing pool that is perfect for your inner James Bond villain.

Link -via Super Punch

The city of Lille, France had a beautiful municipal swimming pool. It was an Art Deco masterpiece built between 1927 and 1932 by the architect Albert Baert. But over the years, the support underneath the pool was weakened, and it was declared unsafe in 1985. Instead of abandoning the building, the city undertook an extensive renovation project, turning the facility into a museum called the La Piscine-Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent. The locals just call it La Piscine. See more pictures of this beautiful building at Kuriositas. Link

(Image credit: Flickr member graham chandler)

Redditch council in Worcestershire says it can save £14,500 a year by warming its new Abbey Stadium sports centre with heat from the crematorium’s incinerators that would otherwise be lost.

The council, which says it is the first project of its kind in the UK, is holding briefings later this week with faith groups, funeral directors and members of the public to discuss the scheme.

But some local people are concerned. Simon Thomas, of Thomas Brothers funeral directors, said: “I don’t know how comfortable people would feel about the swimming pool being heated due to the death of a loved one, I think it’s a bit strange and eerie.”

Link via DVICE | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user Qfamily used under Creative Commons license

Pity the poor swimmer who wanted to do some lengths. These extraordinary images show a busy Monday at the Suining public baths in China’s Sichuan province.

The pool is so crowded that only a rubber ring can ensure bathers of any personal space at all.

China is currently enjoying, if that’s the right word, a record-breaking heatwave with temperatures regularly soaring above 95 degrees Fahrenheit; 35 Celsius.

The Daily Mail (cuz I know how much you guys love that newspaper) has more pics: Link

The breast issue has proved divisive, with political wranglings leading to the question being struck off the agenda at an earlier meeting in April.

These political cleavages remained on view right up until Wednesday’s meetings with disagreements on both the left and right sides. [...]

According to Forsberg, some on the council had lobbied for wording which would have required women to keep their nipples covered, but Forsberg explained that attempting to enforce such a rule would have been too complicated.

"We don’t define what bathing suits men should wear so it doesn’t make much sense to do it for women. And besides, it’s not unusual for men to have large breasts that resemble women’s breasts," he said.

I’m glad that the city’s sports and recreation committee has finally provided the proper support for this important matter. Rest assured, Neatorama will keep you abreast of the situation: Link

“Yesterday morning at around 9:30 AM, prior to the resort’s waterscape opening to guests, a 12+-year-old female reef shark jumped over an 18 inch wide and 1 foot high sustaining structure into the resort’s Leap of Faith water slide.

The Atlantis Aquarists believe the shark was startled by an unusual circumstance that we have no way of defining completely. In the over ten years guests have experienced the Leap of Faith, the reef shark itself, harmless to humans as it is fed regularly by our staff, had shown no previous incidences of leaping out of the water in the marine habitat …

The aquarium staff immediately retrieved the shark from the pool, but the chlorinated water had already poisoned the fish. She died shortly after. Link -via Simply Left Behind

No, New York is not underwater (yet, anyhow) – that’s a clever ad for HSBC by Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai ad agency in India. The bank wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of global warming, so the clever ad guys glued an aerial photo of a city’s skyscrapers to the base of a swimming pool … the effect of a submerged cityscape is fantastic!