Man Paddles From Cuba to US ... Standing Up

Ben Friberg is far from the first person to paddle from Cuba to the US. He is, however, the first person to paddleboard from Cuba to the US, a feat he accomplished yesterday via a 28-hour, 110-mile journey. Friberg, a 35-year-old musician from Tennessee, stood up on his 14-foot-long paddleboard for almost the entire trip to Key West, though he sat down for quick snacks, Reuters reports. Friberg says he made the journey "to promote peace and understanding between Cuba and the United States and to promote a healthy lifestyle."

Friberg is not the only Tennessean to set a watery record this week: a Gate City man spent more than six days underwater to set a world record for the longest freshwater scuba dive. Jerry Hall, 49, went under South Holston Lake last Saturday, and emerged yesterday afternoon, reports the AP. Hall gained 15 lbs before the dive and subsisted only on liquids while underwater. "He's very, very cold, very wrinkled and gray," says his trainer. Hall says he now wants a hotdog, beer, and a shower. (More paddleboarding stories.)