Beach

A beach is the shore of an ocean, sea or of a lake especially when its sandy or pebbly. 

In Roman times, wealthy people spent their free time on the coast. They also built large villa complexes with bathing facilities (so-called maritime villas) in particularly beautiful locations.

The first beach resorts in Britain were opened in the 18th century for the aristocracy, when physicians prescribed a plunge into chilly waters for their health. The first seaside resort opened on England’s eastern shore in the tiny spa town of Scarborough in Yorkshire during the 1720s.

In 1793, Heiligendamm in Mecklenburg, Germany was founded as the first beach resort of the European continent, which successfully attracted Europe's aristocracy to the Baltic Sea.

From 1838-1902, it was illegal to go swimming during the daytime at public beaches in Australia.

A beach was stolen from Jamaica in 2008. The 500 truckloads of sand are still missing to this day.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg first discussed the idea of Indiana Jones while building a sandcastle on the beach.

Australia has over 10,000 beaches -- You could visit a new beach everyday for over 27 years.

Praia do Cassino (Casino Beach), the southernmost beach of the Brazilian coast on the South Atlantic, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, is the longest uninterrupted sandy beach in the world. It’s either 132 miles (212 kms) or 158 miles (254 kms) long depending on how it’s measured.

Bathers on the Praia do Cassino. By Mauren da Silva Rodrigues

The next longest seashore is Victoria’s Ninety Mile Beach, the 90-mile stretch of golden sand that separates the Gippsland Lakes from Bass Strait in Australia.

New Zealand's Ninety-Mile Beach is only 55 miles (88.5 kms) long.

All beaches in Mexico are property of the federal government. There are no privately owned beaches in the whole country, all of them are open to public use.

The fresh, salty smell of beach air is actually the smell of rotting seaweed.