Prepare for the (polar) plunge

"Swimming is simply moving meditation." 4/28/18 Iona Hägglund is a 73-year-old winter swimmer navigating Sweden's frigid waters. Training up to three times a week, Iona swims the length of a frozen lake where temperatures are so low, water can turn to ice in mere seconds. Although a bike accident left her with a broken neck, nothing could keep Iona out of the water. Now, after months of training, she's back in the game as a competitor in the Scandinavian Winter Swimming Championships. Showering in Molten Iron For the past 30 years, Wang De has been practicing the ancient art of Da Shuhua, a 500-year-old tradition that first began with blacksmiths in the Nuanquan village of China. Wanting a way to celebrate Chinese New Year, but without the means to afford traditional fireworks, these blacksmiths devised a new form of entertainment.  The Family Making Sure Your Bread Stays Fresh Tucked away in the town of Yakima, Washington is a factory producing an unassuming, yet wildly prolific global product, one that you've used your entire life—bread tags.  When You're Latina, but the World Says You're Not Monica Veloz, aka MonicaStyleMuse, is a YouTube beauty vlogger and Instagram star amplifying the voices of Afro-Latina women by speaking openly about her heritage.  The Woman Who Never Forgets Born with a rare condition called highly superior autobiographical memory (H.S.A.M.), Rebecca Sharrock is able to recall every single day of her life from 12 days old to present day with remarkable accuracy.  Copyright © 2018 Great Big Story, LLC, All rights reserved.You are receiving this message because you subscribed to the Great Big Story newsletter. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list