The Daily Populous Tuesday May 13rd, 2025 day edition
Authored by vanityfair.com and submitted by T_Shurt

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a lot of curious ideas about how to Make America Healthy Again. Time to add taking illicit swims in bacteria-infested creeks to the list.

On Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary posted shirtless photos of himself swimming in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek with his grandkids for Mother’s Day. It’s a cute enough scene, except, of course for the fact that swimming is banned in Rock Creek because, according to the National Park Service, “Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health.”

It’s unclear whether Kennedy was aware he was violating park policy or whether he was aware of why that policy exists. HHS didn’t respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.

But Rock Creek’s water quality issues are hardly a secret. One 2021 report found “high E. coli values, indicating sewage pollution,” likely resulting from “antiquated sewers that have long since passed their useful life.” Earlier this month, DC Water announced it would undertake an emergency repair of a major sewer line, putting Rock Creek at even further risk of contamination, after finding a 200-foot-long crack in a section of piping that dates back to the 1800s.

Of course, if there were absolutely anyone who seemed like they might take the risk of knowingly swimming in sewer water, it’d be hard to come up with a more likely candidate than Kennedy. This is a man who swears by raw milk, who has questioned whether germs cause disease, and who (deep breath for this one) has speculated that he may have been exposed to the parasitic worm that ate part of his brain when he stuck his hand in the bloody mouth of a dead bear before driving with the carcass to Manhattan and abandoning it in Central Park (exhale).

What, you thought a little poop water would stop this guy from enjoying Mother's Day?

kvlt_ov_personality on May 13rd, 2025 at 00:36 UTC »

Dude probably has to dip himself in sewage to regenerate his powers

thesirensoftitans on May 13rd, 2025 at 00:23 UTC »

I ride through the park along the river daily on the way to work. After a rain, you can smell the pollution off the river.

It's common sense around here not to swim in rock creek. Many people don't even let their dogs wade in the creek.

This was not a smart thing to do and I am completely unsurprised.

T_Shurt on May 13rd, 2025 at 00:21 UTC »

As per original article 📰:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a lot of curious ideas about how to Make America Healthy Again. Time to add taking illicit swims in bacteria-infested creeks to the list.

On Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary posted shirtless photos of himself swimming in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek with his grandkids for Mother’s Day. It’s a cute enough scene, except, of course for the fact that swimming is banned in Rock Creek because, according to the National Park Service, “Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health.”

Oh, that.

It’s unclear whether Kennedy was aware he was violating park policy or whether he was aware of why that policy exists. HHS didn’t respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.

But Rock Creek’s water quality issues are hardly a secret. One 2021 report found “high E. coli values, indicating sewage pollution,” likely resulting from “antiquated sewers that have long since passed their useful life.” Earlier this month, DC Water announced it would undertake an emergency repair of a major sewer line, putting Rock Creek at even further risk of contamination, after finding a 200-foot-long crack in a section of piping that dates back to the 1800s.

Of course, if there were absolutely anyone who seemed like they might take the risk of knowingly swimming in sewer water, it’d be hard to come up with a more likely candidate than Kennedy. This is a man who swears by raw milk, who has questioned whether germs cause disease, and who (deep breath for this one) has speculated that he may have been exposed to the parasitic worm that ate part of his brain when he stuck his hand in the bloody mouth of a dead bear before driving with the carcass to Manhattan and abandoning it in Central Park (exhale).

What, you thought a little poop water would stop this guy from enjoying Mother’s Day?