It’s not known what drew this crowd to the lakefront, but it obviously wasn’t the swimming. PUBLIC BATHING wasn’t officially permitted on a Chicago beach until two years later, in Lincoln Park. Within 20 years, especially after Daniel Burnham unveiled his vision of a lakefront studded with parks and beaches, Chicagoans were enthusiastically taking the plunge.
Weight of a wet woolen swimsuit in the 1890s: 20 POUNDS.
Percentage increase in the number of Lake Michigan beach closings for high bacteria levels in Illinois between 1994 and 2000: 1,090.
Yards of spandex needed to make a men’s string bikini: 1-1/2.
Estimated number of grains of sand on the world’s beaches: 7 QUINTILLION 500 QUADRILLION, or 7,500,000,000,000,000,000.
— Sources: Tribune files, Lake Michigan Federation, University of Hawaii, geocities.com.
