Stupid shit you've seen.

[AFTT47]

I once saw a fella on a message board (not here) ask, in all seriousness, 'Can anyone here tell me how to get on the internet?'

Boru

This reminds me of an incident I experienced when working as a scuba boat captain in the Florida Keys.

A lady in a small boat with two young children came speeding up beside us despite us displaying the diver down flag which is intended to warn other boaters that there are divers in the water and it would sure be nice if you slowed down so as to avoid running over one of them. She did slow to a stop when she reached us and asked where the ocean was. This was on a reef, three miles off-shore. Upon being informed of the fact that she was indeed in the Atlantic Ocean, she showed disgust and great skepticism. "This?!" she asked incredulously. I don't know what she was expecting but obviously, she was disappointed. Without another word, she gunned the throttle and took off. Thankfully, no diver or snorkeler was injured or killed.

In the United States, there is no federal requirement for a license to operate a water craft. It is left up to the states. Boating manufacturers have a heavy lobby presence in the states where boating activity is the heaviest (like Florida). Knowing that licensing requirements discourage boat ownership, it is typical that such states have no requirements at all.

If you are Bill Gates, you can buy your own nuclear-powered cruise ship, get behind the wheel and take-off into the ocean - not having a fucking clue what you are doing.

Such leads to my personal experience of the mother (presumably) of two young children 3 miles off-shore asking directions to the ocean.