Marathons of the ocean
QUESTION Do other nations have an equivalent challenge to swimming the Channel?
ICONIC cross-channel swims make up the incredibly tough Oceans Seven.
With a total distance of almost 124 miles, each poses a unique challenge including strong tides, rough swells, extreme cold, jellyfish and sharks.
The swim must be done solo and, to complete it to Marathon Swimmers Federation standards, no equipment can be used that aids speed, buoyancy or heat retention.
Just 21 people have achieved the feat since it was devised in 2008.
The Oceans Seven comprises of seven long- distance swims: English Channel, 20.5 miles between England and France; Catalina Channel, 20 miles from Catalina Island to the California mainland; Strait of Gibraltar, covering the nine miles from Spain to Morocco; North Channel, the 21.4 miles between Ireland and Scotland; Molokai Channel (also called Kaiwi, the Channel of Bones), 26 miles between the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Oahu; Cook Strait, 14 miles from the North to the South Island of New Zealand; and Tsugaru Strait, 12.1 miles between Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan.
The English Channel is infamous for its powerful and unpredictable currents. In 2010, Jackie Cobell, a 56-year-old motherof-two from Kent, was dragged more than 40 miles off course and ended up swimming 65 miles. Instead of the crossing taking her 18 hours, it took almost 29.
To avoid the blustery afternoon winds, the Catalina Channel requires several hours of night swimming when vision and depth perception are impaired.
Despite its shorter length, the Strait of Gibraltar is not an easy swim. It is a busy shipping lane, so there are boats to contend with, as well as the unpredictable water that comes with large vessels.
The North Channel features heavy seas, cold weather, extremely strong currents and masses of jellyfish. In 2014, Kim Chambers was stung more than 200 times and required hospital treatment.
The Molokai is known for being extremely deep — 2,300 ft at its lowest point — which makes for strong currents. The aggressive marine life includes pods of dolphins, jellyfish and sharks. British swimmer Adam Walker was stung by a Portuguese man o’war and lost the feeling in his spine temporarily.
The Cook Strait is cold, rough water; swimming against strong tidal flows and abundant marine life. Due to underwater mountains, the water can be unpredictable with swirling eddies and currents.
Swimmers attempting to cross the Tsugaru Strait have to deal with sharks, squid, sea snakes and jellyfish.
The first person to complete the Oceans Seven, in 2012, was Stephen Redmond from Co. Cork, a former Irish rugby player, triathlete and famed endurance swimmer. The second person was AnnaCarin Nordin from Sweden in 2013.
Beatrice Edmonds, Dover, Kent.
QUESTION How much does it cost per day in electricity to run the Tube?
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) is the capital’s largest consumer of electricity, with up to 99 per cent consumed by passenger operations.
An energy strategy audit published in 2018 stated: ‘TfL spends £160 million per annum on direct energy costs, with rail traction representing the majority of consumption.’ This is £500,000 a day.
The total annual electricity consumption was 1,547,411,000kWh, with gas at 79,062,005kWh. The combined cost from 2020 to 2023 was £655 million.
D. B. Stuart, London SW2.
QUESTION What was the first artificial sweetener?
SACCHARIN was the first artificial sweetener. It was discovered by accident in 1879 by Constantin Fahlberg at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was working with the coal tar derivative benzoic sulfimide when he noticed a sweet taste on his hand.
With Ira Remsen, he developed a method for the synthesis of saccharin from o- sulfamoylbenzoic acid. It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), does not raise blood sugar levels and has no calories.
They jointly published a paper describing their work but Fahlberg went on to secure the patent without Remsen’ s knowledge. He moved to Germany where he established a company making saccharin and earned a fortune.
In a letter to Scottish chemist William Ramsay, Remsen commented: ‘Fahlberg is a scoundrel. It nauseates me to hear my name mentioned in the same breath with him.’
In 1906, Harvey Wiley, the head chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an advocate for natural foods, proposed a saccharin ban.
But President Theodore Roosevelt, who was dieting at the time, declared: ‘Anyone who says saccharin is injurious to health is an idiot.’
Its use became widespread during World War I because of a sugar shortage.
In the 1960s, saccharin was promoted for weight loss.
Two other popular sweeteners were also discovered by accident. In 1937, Michael Sveda was working on his doctorate at the University of Illinois. One day in the lab, after smoking a cigarette, he brushed tobacco off his lips and tasted something sweet — he had discovered cyclamate.
The U.S. health regulator, the FDA, banned this sweetener in 1970 after it caused cancer in rats, but it is permitted in Britain and Europe.
Aspartame was discovered in 1965 when James Schlatter was trying to create a compound to treat gastric ulcers.
He licked his finger (against safety regulations) to pick up a piece of paper and noticed a strong, sweet taste.
Crystallised aspartyl-phenylalanine methyl ester, aka aspartame, is the world’s most popular sweetener.
David Barry, Swansea.