Sitings of the Stupid and Insane
May 17th, 2008, 12:11 PM
#21
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A book everyone - esp. parents - should read before going on a trip to Yellowstone:
Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park by Lee Whittlesey.
I think it was published before the following could be added: a couple of summers ago a mom climbed past the barriers at Artists Point so her husband could take a picture of her while their young children looked on. She fell 500' to her death while her family watched as did all the other tourists there.
A terrible, terrible thing that has probably left enduring nightmares for many folks.
Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park by Lee Whittlesey.
I think it was published before the following could be added: a couple of summers ago a mom climbed past the barriers at Artists Point so her husband could take a picture of her while their young children looked on. She fell 500' to her death while her family watched as did all the other tourists there.
A terrible, terrible thing that has probably left enduring nightmares for many folks.
May 17th, 2008, 12:21 PM
#23
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I don't know about suicidal, but perhaps homicidal ... For my degree project, I did a paper on the risk and mitigation of lahars at Mt Rainier. No doubt everybody who lives around there, knows of this risk and knows to get to high ground if the sirens go off or if you hear 'rumbling'. I was fortunate enough to visit, before I finished my report, and was more than a little flabbergasted not to see any signs to warn tourists or anybody who might not be aware of the danger. When I returned to the UK I enquired about this (to somebody in authority in Clarke County) and was told that where signs had been erected in the past, they had either been stolen or vandalised and a suggestion that they 'didn't want to put visitors off'. OK - but it's OK to be negligent and not warn them of the possible risk?
As for buffalo. I'm ashamed to say that my own (grown up) son was as stupid as those people mentioned above. We were in Yellowstone, parked, watching buffalo, when he insisted on getting out of the car and walking over to a big 'un for 'a better photo'. I was shrieking at him to get back in the car, but he insisted on being macho and looked at me like I was some silly hysterical woman. I think he did heed my warning though and was soon back in the car.
As for buffalo. I'm ashamed to say that my own (grown up) son was as stupid as those people mentioned above. We were in Yellowstone, parked, watching buffalo, when he insisted on getting out of the car and walking over to a big 'un for 'a better photo'. I was shrieking at him to get back in the car, but he insisted on being macho and looked at me like I was some silly hysterical woman. I think he did heed my warning though and was soon back in the car.
May 17th, 2008, 12:48 PM
#26
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I once saw, OMG it was the most stupid, insane and risky thing I've ever seen someone do...
I saw a couple in matching stained t-shirts, shorts and white tennies, with fanny packs and their fat rolls hanging over their waistbands, walking around with no money belt, wearing their fancy wedding bands, and their cameras in bags that said "Canon" and "Nikon" encouraging every thief in the city to steal from them. Then, they actually walked into a McDonalds for lunch!!
I've never seen anyone risk so much in so short of time.
I saw a couple in matching stained t-shirts, shorts and white tennies, with fanny packs and their fat rolls hanging over their waistbands, walking around with no money belt, wearing their fancy wedding bands, and their cameras in bags that said "Canon" and "Nikon" encouraging every thief in the city to steal from them. Then, they actually walked into a McDonalds for lunch!!
I've never seen anyone risk so much in so short of time.
May 17th, 2008, 01:05 PM
#27
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on kauai, there's too many to list - water and land, ignoring warning signs. it's in the local newspaper. on land, our highway, if you want to call it that, has the most cut flowers. in water, the stupid just vanish, sometimes found later.
May 17th, 2008, 01:31 PM
#28
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Most of these posts have the same theme...people on vacation! I think they just feel liberated from their everyday lives and their brains are on vacation too (sometimes the last trip) We live on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and many many people never cross streets at the crosswalks and don't even focus on the traffic and we have seen many close calls...small kids and slow strollers. It is just a matter of time.
May 17th, 2008, 05:09 PM
#29
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Saw only on TV - not in real life.
A woman at a zoo climbed over the outer railing and sat down right next to the inner railing or the polar bear exhibit - and waved her arm at the bear in the water below. Someone managed to grab her shirt and pull her away just before the bear got her arm.
She was amazed. Said she though it was just a stupid, slow old bear and she would be much faster than it was. And why would it want to bite her?
She had no concept at all that it was a wild animal - or a carnivore (and that the seals that polar bears eat are at least as big as the average person).
A woman at a zoo climbed over the outer railing and sat down right next to the inner railing or the polar bear exhibit - and waved her arm at the bear in the water below. Someone managed to grab her shirt and pull her away just before the bear got her arm.
She was amazed. Said she though it was just a stupid, slow old bear and she would be much faster than it was. And why would it want to bite her?
She had no concept at all that it was a wild animal - or a carnivore (and that the seals that polar bears eat are at least as big as the average person).
May 17th, 2008, 05:38 PM
#30
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doohickey, I have that book! Isn't it great? There's also a book about the Grand Canyon, called Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon.
My hometown is a tourist spot in the summer. I am stunned by the # of people who go "tubing" but can't swim.
My hometown is a tourist spot in the summer. I am stunned by the # of people who go "tubing" but can't swim.
May 17th, 2008, 07:26 PM
#31
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We were in a convertible on the narrow, one-way Roaring Fork Motor Trail in Great Smoky Mtns park when traffic backed up ... due to idiots in a minivan a few cars ahead feeding candy to the cute widdle baby bears. And of course their windows were rolled up ... feeding through a slit. We were stuck! Eventually the people and bears moved on, but it could have been dangerous for us if Momma Bear had gotten unhappy.
Also in GSMNP we saw ladies walking to within 5-10 feet of elk in Cataloochee Valley. dumb dumb dumb.
Also in GSMNP we saw ladies walking to within 5-10 feet of elk in Cataloochee Valley. dumb dumb dumb.
May 17th, 2008, 07:52 PM
#32
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Camping in the Eastern Sierras. We see bears every year and know how to store our food, keep our camp site clean and leave the bears alone! I've seen people chase after them, try to take pictures and videos, but the stupidest was when a family allowed their (approx.) 10 year old son to feed a young bear. The bear was not a cub, but young. It stood as tall as the child. No regard for their child's safety or respect for the bears and other wild life.
May 17th, 2008, 08:10 PM
#33
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My Goodness some of these people could end up dead or worse! They could get a Darwin Award!
On the tamer side, I had a Dalmation (rescued from the pound because she was rejected during the 101 dalmation craze). Any way I'm standing in front of the store with her and this man takes a little child from his shoulders and swoops her down in front of my dog! It freaked out the dog and if I wouldn't have been there the child could have lost her face.
She wasn't an aggressive dog but she was still jsut a scared animal.
On the tamer side, I had a Dalmation (rescued from the pound because she was rejected during the 101 dalmation craze). Any way I'm standing in front of the store with her and this man takes a little child from his shoulders and swoops her down in front of my dog! It freaked out the dog and if I wouldn't have been there the child could have lost her face.
She wasn't an aggressive dog but she was still jsut a scared animal.
May 17th, 2008, 08:43 PM
#34
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L84sky - I had a corgi mix who had been seriously abused before I got her. I was doing short trips to the pet stores, etc. to start socializing. I was at the back of my truck with the shell door open getting ready to attach her leash when a lady walked up, put her arms around the dog's neck and stuck her face in the dog's fur...
I immediately pulled her away and told her in no uncertain terms that she was a raving lunatic. She just kept saying "oh, she's a sweet dog, she'd never hurt me."
I honestly thought I was going to be facing a court battle over this woman losing her face. Thank god the dog didn't freak out and bite her. I immediately got back in the car and went home - poor dog never got to go in the store.
I immediately pulled her away and told her in no uncertain terms that she was a raving lunatic. She just kept saying "oh, she's a sweet dog, she'd never hurt me."
I honestly thought I was going to be facing a court battle over this woman losing her face. Thank god the dog didn't freak out and bite her. I immediately got back in the car and went home - poor dog never got to go in the store.
May 17th, 2008, 09:04 PM
#35
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That was a reasonable fear, toedtoes. If the dog would have bitten her, then it's possible that the dog would have been to blame.
People don't understand, it could come down to the dog's life.
I love corgis! It's easy to want to get carried away with them but they can be rambunctious.
People don't understand, it could come down to the dog's life.
I love corgis! It's easy to want to get carried away with them but they can be rambunctious.
May 19th, 2008, 05:12 PM
#37
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Was going to mention the Death in the Grand Canyon book by fyb beat me to it.
We were in Slide Rock SP in Sedona and an Indian woman walked down into a pool in the river and just stayed there. Her husband was frantically screaming for help. Apparently neither of them knew how to swim! Someone jumped in and brought her out and she wasn't submerged long enough to need CPR, but it was a life threatening situation.
We were in the water park at Great Adventure, NJ and a young man slide down a steep slide into a deep pool - same thing. He just stayed there and the lifeguard had to rescue him. The idiot father just said, How was I supposed to know it was so deep? What a total moron - the steep slide and deep water didn't give you #*(*# clue?! It wasn't just that - it was his, Oh well, can't be helped attitude.
We were in Slide Rock SP in Sedona and an Indian woman walked down into a pool in the river and just stayed there. Her husband was frantically screaming for help. Apparently neither of them knew how to swim! Someone jumped in and brought her out and she wasn't submerged long enough to need CPR, but it was a life threatening situation.
We were in the water park at Great Adventure, NJ and a young man slide down a steep slide into a deep pool - same thing. He just stayed there and the lifeguard had to rescue him. The idiot father just said, How was I supposed to know it was so deep? What a total moron - the steep slide and deep water didn't give you #*(*# clue?! It wasn't just that - it was his, Oh well, can't be helped attitude.
May 20th, 2008, 05:13 AM
#40
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Most of my family has worked in tourism at one point or another here in Florida. Rule number one: Most vacationers leave their brains at home!
My sister worked at tourist attraction here in Florida, with a large a pond on the property. One day, an irate woman charges up to my sister, dragging a crying three year old boy, and demands to speak to a manager. Sis asks what the problem is. Woman's response, "Your alligator is totally uncooperative. My son had his sippy cup balanced on its head, and it took off before I could get the picture!"
Older DS captained boats at two different attractions in Orlando. He had to take a week's worth of advanced water safety classes (not boating, but lifeguarding) because they had so many tourists that would decide they needed a swim mid-voyage.
Younger DS tended bar at one of the Orlando nightlife attractions. His highlight was a drunk that lit his shot (in a plastic cup) and then caught himself on fire trying to drink it. Took four people to chase the fool down and put him out. Luckily, his burns weren't severe.
My sister worked at tourist attraction here in Florida, with a large a pond on the property. One day, an irate woman charges up to my sister, dragging a crying three year old boy, and demands to speak to a manager. Sis asks what the problem is. Woman's response, "Your alligator is totally uncooperative. My son had his sippy cup balanced on its head, and it took off before I could get the picture!"
Older DS captained boats at two different attractions in Orlando. He had to take a week's worth of advanced water safety classes (not boating, but lifeguarding) because they had so many tourists that would decide they needed a swim mid-voyage.
Younger DS tended bar at one of the Orlando nightlife attractions. His highlight was a drunk that lit his shot (in a plastic cup) and then caught himself on fire trying to drink it. Took four people to chase the fool down and put him out. Luckily, his burns weren't severe.
