This makes me feel Afraid Connected Delighted Empowered Relieved Uncomfortable at an Shared Collective scale
Polar Bear Plunge
The Polar Bear Plunge is an event that happens every year where participants plunge into the cold Atlantic Ocean waters at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
Organized by the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, the Polar Bear Plunge is an event that occurs every year where every Sunday between the months of November and April members of the club plunge into the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island. Many people however only participate once a year as a tradition and/or celebration of the New Year on January 1st. The event is also used to raise money for charitable organizations. Many people choose to wear funny and crazy outfits/costumes and come with friends and family. The event brings people together through the collective fear but also excitement of entering the cold waters. Although many worry about getting sick from the plunge, most people do just fine as long as you bring a towel and warm clothes to change into immediately after the brief plunge. The event has been going on since 1903 and has become fairly well known as it has been featured in TV shows such as Seinfeld.
Contributer notes
What is surprising, refreshing, most interesting?
It’s refreshing to see that so many people still partake in an event like this that forces you out of your comfort zone. To some extent, as a participant you use the energy, confidence, and bravery of other people to build up your own confidence. Most of the people that take part in this event are Brooklynites which is an amazing thing to see as Brooklyn is such a diverse and large area it often does not feel like one community. Events like this, however, help to bring the Brooklyn community as a whole together.
Key Insights? What can we learn from this?
An activity such as going for a swim in the middle of winter at Coney Island in NYC is not something that any one person would likely ever consider doing. As an organized large event, however, it goes from just an absurd idea to an absurd idea that becomes fun and shared with other people. People often build connections to other people based on similar experiences and the Polar Bear Plunge is an example of this where the event creates a community around this strange, crazy experience.