The annual Polar Bear Dip took place New Year's Day at Sunnyside Beach in the midst of a deep freeze in Toronto, with temperatures hovering around -12C. Some 400 people participated in fundraising efforts for Habitat for Humanity, the beneficiary of the event, though about half that number took the frigid plunge into Lake Ontario. The water was just above freezing, and the teeth chattering began well before participants introduced themselves to its unwelcoming grips. These are some brave people. Or aliens. Charitable aliens.
Check out all the shiver-inducing photos in this gallery of the Polar Bear Dip.