One of the signature icons of the 2008 Beijing Games will undoubtedly be the National Aquatics Center, known also by its simple and straightforward name, the "WaterCube." The 17,000-seat swimming and diving venue, designed by Australian architects, has an outer wall of transparent Teflon foam and is a triumph of theoretical physics. Thanks to its 14-sided cell structure and translucency, the building can be lit up from the inside in any number of colors and patterns. The "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium (off to the right), for its own set of wonders, certainly can't do that.

Swimming events have been contested at every single modern Olympic Games, all the way back to Athens 1896. Those four events were held in the cold Aegean Bay of Zea, with water temperatures of 53 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius). It's said that Gardner Williams, the only American swimmer who competed in the Games of the 1st Olympiad, reported, "Jesus Christ, it's freezing," before competing (and falling short) in the inaugural Olympic 100 meter freestyle event. That race began with dives off anchored boats and finished on the beach.