That headline might sound like a game of Mad Libs or even Cards Against Humanity, but it happened. Benjamin Franklin was known as a really good swimmer who could do tricks in the water. The Founding Father was on a boat on the Thames near Chelsea, accompanied by a man who boasted about Franklin's talents. Franklin was not shy, and it took only a little encouragement for him to strip down and demonstrate his abilities in the Thames. He swam alongside the boat, showing off for about three miles. His movements were akin to what we would later call water ballet, and is now known as synchronized swimming.
It was an impressive feat because few people actually knew how to swim at the time. Ancient people up through the Roman era were swimmers, but during the Dark Ages, it was seen as sinful, both because of the pleasure it brought and because of the exposure of one's body. Franklin was quite an advocate for bringing back the custom of swimming. Read about the incident, and about Franklin's athletic abilities at LitHub.
By the way, before you get an unwanted image in your head, this happened in 1726, when Franklin was 19 years old. -via Nag on the Lake
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