Matthew Webb was born to swim, in a time and place in which few people went into the water willingly. He was born in Engladn in 1848 and became a merchant seaman at the age of 12. His took his greatest pleasure in rescuing men overboard and other people in danger of drowning.
As evidenced by this hobby, Webb didn't really want to be on the water: he wanted to be in it. In the 19th century, there weren't very many opportunities for aspiring professional swimmers—the Plague Years had kept germ-fearing Europeans out of the water, and the sport had a few centuries of suspicion to make up for. Rather than racing other pros or teaching amateurs, Webb slowly made his hobby more lucrative by marketing himself as an attraction. He invented showy scenarios and rose to self-imposed challenges, some serious and some silly, and he always took home a purse when others bet against him—in the same year, he wagered that he could swim 20 miles from Blackwell Pier to Gravesend faster than anyone had before, and also that he could stay in the water "longer than a Newfoundland dog." He beat the record in four hours and 45 minutes, and the dog in about an hour and a half.
The stunt that made Webb famous was inspired by an unsuccessful attempt to swim across the English Channel in 1872. Webb knew he could do it, and success would bring him lasting fame. And so he did, 140 years ago today. On August 24th, 1875, Webb swam for 21 hours straight. He not only made himself a household name (and quite a bit of money), but his popularity brought the sport of swimming back to England. Pools were built across the country to meet demand, and everyone wanted to take swimming lessons. But fame and fortune did not last all that long for Matthew Webb. Read his story at Atlas Obscura.
Comments (1)
3 Ballot questions in this Novembers election will effectively shut down about 20% of Colorado's Public Libraries (basically all the libraries that do NOT have a publicly elected board are screwed).
America is dumb enough, I can't imagine how much dumber they can afford to get - I guess I'll find out after November.
I don't even remember the last time I was at a library but I know my sister goes a lot.
I agree vonskippy, America needs libraries now more than ever.
While most public schools do have libraries, Matt, the schools frequently are not open at night or on the weekends. Due to budget cuts, much is often lacking in the school library. The library is the only place where research may be conducted.
Geez, thanks for your kind words about a WHOLE country. Next time I hear about some stupid silly thing some American Nobel prize winner has done, I'll remind myself that America has no brains.
Be careful when you decide to dismount your high horse. The fall is gonna be a long one.
In San Francisco they built a new library to replace the old one. The new one looks like an art gallery and has half of the space of the old library.
Do you know what they did with the half of the books that would not fit in the new library? They threw them out!
After building the new art gallery, um, library, they then staffed it with the $100,000 a year management that Peg mentions.
I have not been to the library in years because the book section I am interested in went from six or eight 8 foot tall by 20 feet long racks of books, down to six or eight 3 feet tall racks of books maybe 6 feet long.
Happeh, "Do you know what they did with the half of the books that would not fit in the new library? They threw them out!"
What else would they have done with them? People get SO offended when books get thrown away (after "weeding" the shelves, aka deaccession) but where are they supposed to go? Books are thrown out when they haven't been circulated in years or are in poor condition or are hopelessly obsolete. Some are removed via book sales (and often come back in a donation a couple of years later), but then what?
As for the "art gallery" library... people don't see a lot of need for libraries these days, at least not in the traditional "book storage unit" sense. Do you want them to cling to the old ways and hemorrhage in gate counts? Several libraries I know have in recent times remodeled to add cafe areas, a lot more reading spots, better environment overall, etc, because that's what people tend to use them for. A dingy beige, metal-shelved library is NOT going to compete with a stylish Barnes & Noble that lets patrons still read for free and visit a Starbucks and use the wifi while they're there.
Which is not to say that the redesigned library is not a poor space. Politics and flashy design can affect libraries as much as any other institution. The public library in (I think) Seattle has an unusual spiraling ramp to take patrons through the Dewey numbers. Cool and different? Sure. Useless compared to a more usual layout? You bet.