Do you have bad beach etiquette? A new study breaks down Americans' most shameless beach behaviors
Here's what the survey reveals. A staggering 70-percent of respondents openly admit to peeing in the ocean. Nearly half (49-percent) drink alcohol on beaches where it's banned. And 39-percent pocket shells or sand as souvenirs, ignoring the fact that this seemingly harmless habit actually damages coastal habitats and speeds up beach erosion. Beachgoers also admit to smoking, feeding wildlife, littering and not picking up after pets.
Even so, ask beachgoers what grinds their gears, and you'd think the respondents were beach angels. Littering tops the list of what Americans find most annoying, followed by people who don't pick up after their pets and, of course, those who plop down a towel a little too close for comfort. On average, Americans commit three etiquette sins per trip, yet 70-percent say these same behaviors ruin their day.
Beyond the stats, the real problem is that millions of beach visitors don't adhere to the principle of "leave no trace," whether it's a plastic cup, dog waste or removing that "harmless" handful of shells that many forms of marine life depend on.
If you want to avoid the most common beach annoyances, you can head for hidden gems and tucked-away beaches with far fewer crowds, but the better solution is to be a beach ambassador by picking up your trash, giving others space, wearing headphones and locating the nearest public toilet. Hopefully, fellow beachgoers will follow suit.
Most annoying beach behaviors, according to Americans:
Littering
Not picking up after pets
Sitting too close
Loud music
Shaking sand
Children invading space
Smoking
Pets invading space
Peeing in the water
Taking saved spots
Bad beach behaviors that Americans admit to:
Peeing in the water
Drinking alcohol
Taking sand or shells
Taking too long in beach facilities
Loud music
Not picking up after pets
Littering
Smoking or vaping
Feeding wildlife
Sitting too close
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
Robot air raid wardens would soon sort the slow-moving herds of tourists
Everything stopped when the ARP Warden said so (Picture: National World) Lothian Buses run a fine fleet of impressive buses, driven by an equally impressive army of drivers, who somehow manage to navigate the hazards of roadworks, closures and on-street scaffolding without becoming psychopathic maniacs. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... This time of year sees the added Princes Street traffic-jamming phenomenon – the slow moving herds of tourists drifting across the junctions, oblivious to the wee red man. Our bus drivers sit stoic, staring at the castle-pointing, map-reading, selfie-taking humans strolling past. The passengers waiting for the stop stand sighing, even if we harbour the most murderous thoughts. There are times when I think we need a new signal on the crossing lights. I want a fourth, and I'm thinking three dimensions on this one. I want one of those animatronic things built to look like a furious ARP warden – yes, I know, it's well retro, most of the tourists won't get the reference. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Heck, most of our youngsters won't get it, but the Second World War Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden represents a glorious moment in Scottish social history when we got to shout at anyone, and someone has to start shouting to keep these crossings clear and keep the traffic moving. Especially when I've got a train to catch. We can't expect ordinary folks to start yelling at the junctions. For one thing, who'd notice? It's The Fringe. People would just think it's a show. And secondly, we just don't do public shouting. That's the sort of thing we leave to ranty Americans being filmed on crowded airplanes, given the evidence on the Internetyweb. We and our English cousins tend go in for non-confrontational behaviour in these situations. We're just as fond of a good tut as anyone from Surrey. We're just as good at the eye-roll, and can stand toe-to-toe with any Essex man in the heavy sigh stakes. We are just as capable of elevating up to all three if the infraction is really bad, and throw in a head shake as well. But the war brought us that moment when the ordinary Scot got to take on the full mantle of state power, put on a helmet and shout for Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Every crossing on Princes Street, and I am looking at you, South St David Street, would have a robot ARP primed and ready. If so much as a foot hovers over the kerb when the wee red man glows, Chief Warden Hodges would explode into life, gesturing and bellowing 'Get back there' or 'Clear this crossing'. And perhaps 'Here, put that light out!' just for the historical accuracy of the thing. Mind you, the more I think on it, the more I see the danger of the robot crossing guard becoming a menace in itself. Tourists take photos of everything. No doubt they'd take selfies with them the way they do with the Household Cavalry in London. Well, how about real live people doing the job? Loads of retired folks are kicking about looking for that 'wee job'. There's an entire army of post-menopausal women who'd leap at the chance to stick on a helmet, stand at the kerbs and spend the day bellowing 'Stop right there!', 'Look where you're going!' and 'Stop staring at the castle, it's not going anywhere!'. It's like customer service, but with added fury. Yes, you bet, I'm auditioning for the role if it ever comes up.
Time Out
3 days ago
- Time Out
Do you have bad beach etiquette? A new study breaks down Americans' most shameless beach behaviors
Americans might love going to the beach, but their beach behavior might tell a different story. A new survey of more than 1,000 adults by found that while 93-percent of Americans claim they have great beach etiquette, almost the exact same number—92-percent—admit to at least one bad beach habit. It's the classic "it's everyone else, not me" defense, and it's not pretty. Here's what the survey reveals. A staggering 70-percent of respondents openly admit to peeing in the ocean. Nearly half (49-percent) drink alcohol on beaches where it's banned. And 39-percent pocket shells or sand as souvenirs, ignoring the fact that this seemingly harmless habit actually damages coastal habitats and speeds up beach erosion. Beachgoers also admit to smoking, feeding wildlife, littering and not picking up after pets. Even so, ask beachgoers what grinds their gears, and you'd think the respondents were beach angels. Littering tops the list of what Americans find most annoying, followed by people who don't pick up after their pets and, of course, those who plop down a towel a little too close for comfort. On average, Americans commit three etiquette sins per trip, yet 70-percent say these same behaviors ruin their day. Beyond the stats, the real problem is that millions of beach visitors don't adhere to the principle of "leave no trace," whether it's a plastic cup, dog waste or removing that "harmless" handful of shells that many forms of marine life depend on. If you want to avoid the most common beach annoyances, you can head for hidden gems and tucked-away beaches with far fewer crowds, but the better solution is to be a beach ambassador by picking up your trash, giving others space, wearing headphones and locating the nearest public toilet. Hopefully, fellow beachgoers will follow suit. Most annoying beach behaviors, according to Americans: Littering Not picking up after pets Sitting too close Loud music Shaking sand Children invading space Smoking Pets invading space Peeing in the water Taking saved spots Bad beach behaviors that Americans admit to: Peeing in the water Drinking alcohol Taking sand or shells Taking too long in beach facilities Loud music Not picking up after pets Littering Smoking or vaping Feeding wildlife Sitting too close
Daily Mirror
21-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Pilot's chilling final words over tannoy before 183 passengers killed in fireball crash
Captain Zygmunt Pawlaczyk of LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 conveyed a harrowing goodbye over the aircraft's speaker system: "Good night! Goodbye! Bye, we're dying!" The final moments aboard a doomed passenger aircraft were captured in a spine-chilling final transmission from the pilot just seconds before the devastating crash that killed everyone on board. Captain Zygmunt Pawlaczyk of LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 delivered a heart-wrenching farewell over the plane's intercom: "Dobranoc! Do widzenia! Czesc, giniemy!" which translates to the bone-chilling words, "Good night! Goodbye! Bye, we're dying!". The ill-fated Ilyushin II-62M was travelling from Warsaw to New York on May 9, 1987, with a scheduled fuel stop before continuing to San Francisco. However, all 172 passengers and 11 crew perished when the aircraft plummeted into the Kabaty Woods nature reserve near Warsaw 56 minutes after departure, becoming Poland's worst aviation disaster and the deadliest incident involving an Ilyushin II-62M. Mass tragedies like this have become less common in recent decades despite increasing flight numbers, and yet last month, 260 people died when an Air India flight failed to ascend after takeoff. Air traffic control recordings preserved the cockpit's last words at 11.12am local time. Captain Pawlaczyk, aged 59 with an extensive 19,745 flight hours under his belt, commanded a crew of Polish crew members who perished either from fire or were thrown from the aircraft during the sudden loss of cabin pressure. That tragic day saw 172 people on board: 155 Polish nationals and 17 Americans. The doomed voyage commenced with air traffic control directing the crew to ascend to 5,500m altitude as rapidly as possible. When the crew pushed the engines to maximum power for take-off, the faulty bearings in the second engine reached a catastrophic temperature of 1800 degrees and failed completely, resulting in the shaft's explosive destruction. The flight crew swiftly recognised that both the elevator controls had been compromised and the engines were no longer functioning. Travellers were reportedly aware of their perilous predicament, with Halina Domeracka, 58, penning a haunting message in her New Testament: "9.05.1987 The aircraft's damaged... God, what will happen now... Halina Domeracka, R. Tagore St. Warsaw.." Following the devastating accident, the nation held two days of national mourning, whilst international leaders, including Polish-born Pope John Paul II, conveyed deep grief over the disaster. The service remained operated by the Ilyushin II-62M until 1989, before switching to the inaugural Boeing 767 and later upgrading to the Boeing 787 in 2012.
