Ripples #102

43rd Annual International Nude Swim
Competition Held in Mulhouse, France

You may recall the classic “Seinfeld” episode in which George experiences a common male malady known as “shrinkage” after swimming in a pool with cold water.

In the scene, George has undressed, trading his swimsuit for his birthday suit, when Jerry’s then-girlfriend accidentally opens the wrong door and, seeing his shrunken… uh… birthday candle, begins to giggle about its small size. She leaves and George, distraught at the humiliation, shouts, “I was in the pool! I was in the pool!”

Ripples mentions this because the French city of Mulhouse recently hosted the annual international nude swimming competition, an event that has taken place for more than four decades. This year it was organized by the French Federation for Naturism.

A report on the French radio network RTL observed that the nudist aquatic competition enabled participants “‘to swim for pleasure’ and to show ‘respect for others and the body.'” An article on the Web site thelocal.fr, which quoted RTL, also noted the following:

The vice-president of the French Federation for Naturism Yves Leclerc told RTL that “the windows of the swimming pool had been covered beforehand in order not to shock the neighbors and also so that the participants would feel at ease.”

The 230 attendees (both men and women, including onlookers) were from France, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy and Germany. Out of that total, 180 swam in the various competitive events, which included breast stroke, butterfly, backstroke and freestyle relay. The German squad took the largest number of medals, while France came in second.

Although Ripples makes no claim to being an expert on the subject of shrinkage, he cannot help but wonder whether swimming in the nude causes an even more extreme form of the condition: hyper-shrinkage. Of course, nudism allegedly is about feeling good about one’s body no matter what shape it’s in — so perhaps none of the men afflicted with hyper-shrinkage gave a hoot, despite their diminished appendages being visible for all to see.

Plus, there is this sobering fact to keep in mind: Compared to the horrific outbreak of Ebola, hyper-shrinkage is a very small matter indeed.

To watch the wonderful shrinkage scene from “Seinfeld,” click here.

And with that, Ripples once again says…
Until next time, happy watershaping to you!