With the Olympics starting up again -- albeit the winter ones -- and my passion for science, I ran across this interesting and humorous study comparing the speed at which one swims through corn syrup versus pool water.
If you think you already know which substance slows down swimmers more, you may be in for a surprise, but I won't spoil it for you... But I can reveal, the fun part of the study was the bizarre nature of it, requiring researchers to jump through many hoops just to get permission to conduct their experiment.
It's probably a good time to remind you chlorinated pool water can cause major disruptions to your biochemistry. Moreover, your body absorbs more chlorine after swimming in a pool for a hour than from drinking unfiltered municipal tap water
Nature.com September 20, 2004