Best Of MetaFilter

Snorkel en Rojas by almirot (cc by)

Scuba and snorkel instructor here. I have had reservations about the full face masks since they came out: danapiper comments in the Drowning in three feet of water thread.

Wallpaper Blue Jeans (Closeup / Nahaufnahme) by Thragor 2 (cc by)

Was the Olympic swimming pool crooked? Wade into some musing on the physics of pool design.

Speaking of world-class swimming, mce explains all about those modern ultra-high-tech swimsuits and the new rules they brought in (suits must be made of textile!).

Speaking of textiles, here's politikitty on what happened to Levi's? -- inside blue jeans manufacturing and the tradeoffs involved in making inexpensive stretchy comfy pre-faded jeans.

Speaking of discerning durability, how do I pick good quality fabric for sewing?

Hands up by vapour trail (cc by-nd)

The hardest (oddest?) part? You learn that a fairly likely outcome of your attempt to rescue a conscious non-swimmer is that you will be attacked, and so you have to learn underwater combat tactics, so that you won't be drowned the first time you try to carry out a rescue.

infinite intimation and other former lifeguards comment in the Spot the Drowning Child thread, while some survivors remember. Plus, Mefi's worst (imaginary) lifeguard, racial swimming disparity / swimming pool discrimination, dreaming underwater, and PS: Please don't throw babies in pools.