The Largest Swimming Pool in the World

San Alfonso del Mar, a seaside resort in Chile, houses the biggest artificial swimming pool in the world. San Alfonso del Mar is situated on Chile’s southern coast, 100 km west of the capital Santiago.

San Alfonso del Mar has already been attracting people from all over South America and this artificial lagoon and swimming pool, eight hectares in size and with an incredible 250,000 cubic meters of water, is intended to turn it into a must see for virtually all people. Acknowledged by Guinness World Records as being the world’s largest swimming pool, the lagoon trounces all other record holders in the category, including the Orthlieb pool in Casablanca, Morocco, itself a huge 150 meters by 100 meters – the San Alfonso pool is 1km in length.

The unique clear water artificial lagoons, transparent to a depth of 35 meters and unprecedented in design and construction methods, are the work of Crystal Lagoons founder, biochemist and Chilean businessman Fernando Fischmann. It is equivalent in size to an incredible 6,000 normal backyard pools. The lagoon, cost an estimated $US1.5 billion ($1.74 billion) to build. The pool itself took five years to build and the annual maintenance bill will be £2million. It can harvest, filter and permanently recirculate ocean water by itself.

The water in summer is kept at 25 degrees Celsius, around nine degrees warmer than the chilly Pacific Ocean nearby. The man-made lagoon large enough to allow guests make use of small kayaks boats to ferry around the pool.

The lagoon technology can “harvest, filter and permanently recirculate ocean water,” according to the Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann who heads Crystal Lagoons Corporation, the company which developed the technology.

The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo since its opening. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end.

The Youngest Mother in the World: Lina Medina, Peru

Born at full term at Lima's maternity clinic, Lina Medina's child was taken through a caesarian operation done by Dr. Lozada and Dr. Busalleu.

Lina's son was weighing 2,700 grams at birth, was in good wealth and well formed. The baby and his young mother were able to leave the clinic after only a few days.

Lina Medina (born 27th of September, 1933, in Paurange, Peru) is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of 5 years, 7 months and 21 days.

Lina Medina was brought in 1938 to a local hospital by her parents at the age of 5 years because of increasing abdominal size. She was originally thought to have had a tumor, but her doctors determined she was in her 7th month of pregnancy. Dr. Gerardo Lozada took her to Lima, Peru, prior to the surgery to have other professionals confirm that Lina was in fact pregnant. A month and a half later, on 14th of May, 1939, she gave birth to a boy by a caesarean section necessitated by her small pelvis. The surgery was performed by Dr. Lozada and Dr. Busalleu, with Dr. Colareta providing anaesthesia. Her case was reported in detail by Dr. Escomel to La Presse Medicale, along with the additional details that her menarche had occurred at 8 months of age, and that she had had prominent breast development by the age of 4. By age 5 her figure displayed pelvic widening and advanced bone maturation.

Her son weighed 2.7 kg at birth and was named Gerardo after the doctor who delivered gim. He was raised believing that Lina was his sister, but found out at the age of ten that she was his mother. He grew up healthy but died in 1979, aged 40, of a disease of the bone marrow.

Lina Medina never revealed who was the father of her child, nor the circumstances of her impregnation. Dr. Escomel suggested she might not actually know herself by writing that Lina "couldn't give precise responses". Lina's father was arrested on suspicion of incest and rape, but was later released due to lack of evidence. Medina later married Raul Jurado, who fathered her second son in 1972. They live in a poor district of Lima known as "Chicago Chico" ("Little Chicago"). She has never spoken to the press and has not given any details on the cirmunstances she became pregnant.

In young adulthood she worked as a secretary in the Lima clinic of Dr. Gerardo Lozada, the doctor who performed her caesarean section. Lozada gave her an education, and helped put her son through high school.