Why the Swim Isn't the Hard Part New Year's Day plunges happen all over the USA. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club has run its January 1 swim since 1903, drawing thousands to the Atlantic in Brooklyn. Chicago's Polar Plunge fills the lakefront every year. Smaller towns run their own versions at lakes, rivers, and beaches from Maine to Washington. Here's what nobody tells first-timers. The water...

Why the Swim Isn't the Hard Part New Year's Day plunges happen all over the USA. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club has run its January 1 swim since 1903, drawing thousands to the Atlantic in Brooklyn. Chicago's Polar Plunge fills the lakefront every year. Smaller towns run their own versions at lakes, rivers, and beaches from Maine to Washington. Here's what nobody tells first-timers. The water...

The Piece That Left the House and Stayed Out Ten years ago, wearing sweatpants in public meant you'd given up. People wore them to the gym, to the mailbox, maybe to a late-night grocery run if nobody was watching. That's over. In 2026, sweatpants show up at coffee shops, airports, dinners, and even offices with relaxed dress codes. The shift didn't happen because standards dropped. It happened...