Costly Beach Fails That Will Make You Want to Stay Home

What Happened: A dog got wet at the beach
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

Most dogs love the beach, and why wouldn’t they? They have the chance to run around in the water, get wet, chase birds and the occasional fish, and sniff everything on the shoreline. As you can see from this photo, this dog has had a little too much fun.

Wet Dog Vibes @littlethingscom/Pinterest

He’s soaking wet and, somehow, on his hind legs. He looks like a human getting out of a pool and shivering. Time for someone to wrap him in a warm towel and feed him a ham sandwich with salt-and-vinegar chips.

What Happened: A low plane landing
Est. Cost of Fail: $27 for a plane-spotting tour at Maho Beach*

Maho Beach is famous for its plane landings, and we’d be willing to bet this photo was taken here. Maho Beach is located on Saint Martin, a Caribbean Island, and the planes there land extremely low.

Too Close For Comfort @pjofnh/Pinterest

If you’re there to plane-watch, you’re going to get an experience like no other. The planes fly so low, they’re bound to make you nervous, but the beach is remarkably accident-free, save for the odd, headline-making incident. 

What Happened: Seal plopping down on a lounge chair
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

Don’t disturb him—he’s been working hard and needs a rest. Seals are interesting animals, because it seems as though they can act like blubbery, seafaring humans whenever they want. For example, this seal is having a nap on a beach lounge chair.

He Paid For That Seat @sophia971922/Pinterest

Seals are usually pretty friendly, but you still shouldn’t approach them or try to touch them…even if they come onto the beach and take a seat next to you. According to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, seals are gentle unless they feel threatened. 

What Happened: A bitten surfboard is posed at the beach
Est. Cost of Fail: $150-$300*

If we saw a surfboard with two giant chomps taken out of it, it probably wouldn’t be much of an encouragement to get in the water. This hilarious art installation (at least, we hope it is), was spotted at a random, abandoned section of a beach.

Might Not Want To Get In The Water @ebaumsworld/Pinterest

Or at least, supposedly abandoned. The building behind it is covered in graffiti, and we don’t see too many other people there. Perhaps they’ve been scared off by the surfboard with two huge shark bites taken out of it.

What Happened: A woman covered in starfish
Est. Cost of Fail: N/A

Starfish feed by using their suction-cupped feet to hold onto their prey. Once they have a good grip on the clam, oyster, or other animal, they use the feet to pry the prey open for dinnertime. That’s one reason why this woman will regret her choice to be covered in starfish.

Starfish Attack @neferast/Pinterest

This creepy-looking photo is probably not a great idea, and this woman had better hope these starfish aren’t hungry. Plus, it’s likely illegal to take them out of the ocean, a common rule imposed by beaches with a lot of wildlife.

What Happened: Man fake-eating the rainbow  
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

This would be a perfect scene from a Skittles commercial imploring people to “Taste the Rainbow.” This perfect shot was taken when there was a glowing, beautifully-colored rainbow in the sky after a storm.

Eat the Rainbow @ebaumsworld/Pinterest

This man managed, no doubt with the help of his photographer, to line up the shot perfectly to make it look as though he was swallowing the rainbow whole. You gotta love the creativity and dedication, two things the beach seems to bring out of people.

What Happened: An optical illusion
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

This perfectly-timed photo is sure to make you laugh, though we have a feeling the man in the photo doesn’t find it too funny. Someone managed to capture this picture at just the right second, snapping the optical illusion before anyone could move.

Perfectly-Timed @cheezburgerpins/Pinterest

This man, as a result, looks as though he’s wearing a large, tropical-printed ballerina tutu. Whoever took this picture must have been paying close attention to their surroundings, as this photo is once-in-a-lifetime.

What Happened: Dodge ignored the tide schedule, probably
Est. Cost of Fail: $60,000*

Don’t worry, as this isn’t the scene of some random, terrible accident of a man driving his pickup into the sea. It’s actually, according to the person who posted it, a failed commercial. Dodge tried to film a commercial at the beach, but their ad execs miscalculated the tide schedule.

Failed Dodge Commercial @boredpanda/Pinterest

The result was the destruction of a $60,000 promotional truck that was swept into the sea for the fish to drive. We can’t be certain, but we have a feeling someone’s getting fired for this expensive oversight.

What Happened: A man fed raccoons Fritos
Est. Cost of Fail: $1-$3 for the chips*

This beach in Panama City doesn’t just have human guests in its waters; it also has racoon guests. Racoons get into everything, and these funny, striped little pests love eating food above all else.

Mother Nature In Action @boredpanda/Pinterest

One man on the beach in Panama City chose to emulate Mother Nature when he began feeding a line of raccoons Fritos. Much like the Pied Piper, he quickly developed a following of these animals, all of whom couldn’t wait to get their dexterous little paws on one of his corn snacks.

What Happened: Very obvious beach weirdo
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

To promote its bubbly, iconic, lemon-lime soda, Sprite Brazil installed its own “Sprite Shower” on a beach in Rio de Janeiro. This publicity stunt featured a Sprite soda machine that pumped out cooling water onto guests.

Creepy Sprite Guy @boredpanda/Pinterest

A lot of people loved this ad campaign, but, alas, it did attract beach creeps. Beach creeps are a category all their own, and this one, very obviously, chose to put his chair up right next to the showers so he could spy on the women washing themselves. Ew.

What Happened: Penguin wedding
Est. Cost of Fail: $500*

What’s crazy about this photo is that, for a second, we actually thought that someone had gathered a group of real-life penguins together, lined them up like so, and held a wedding for them, complete with a bride, groom, and priest.

A Black Tie Event @twitter/Pinterest

Obviously, upon second look, this is just a bunch of stuffed animals arranged in a hilarious way. What about you? Did this image fool you for a second, or were you onto the fact that it is a set-up right away? 

What Happened: A funny photobomb
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

We love seeing people with a sense of humor. It seems that, nowadays, everyone is suspicious of everyone else, and there is always wariness when it comes to strangers and their intentions. That said, the beach is a great place to get along and make friends.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others @boredpanda/Pinterest

Even friends that want to create a hilarious photobomb. This man, who looks like an elderly Willem Dafoe, has chosen to pose himself with a lineup of young, bikini-wearing ladies. And you know what? He blends right in…sort of. 

What Happened: Assateague ponies being nosy
Est. Cost of Fail: $5,000 or six months in jail for touching the ponies*

Assateague Island is located off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia, and it is famous for its wild ponies. These horses roam the beaches at will, and visitors are cautioned to stay ten feet away from the horses at all times, so as not to endanger them.

These Intrusive Wild Ponies @boredpanda/Pinterest

Yes, even if the ponies are making a nuisance of themselves, such as in this photo here. The fine for touching an Assateague pony is around $5,000, or, if you can’t pay that, six months in jail. That’s the reason the people in this photo have backed up with their arms behind their back.

What Happened: IG BFs taking photos
Est. Cost of Fail: $0*

“Can you please just take my photo real quick?” This sentence, as Instagram boyfriends know, often proceeds at least two-hundred different photos, each with minutely-altered poses and gestures.

Instagram Boyfriends For The Win @boredpanda/Pinterest

This photo was posted by a man whose girlfriend asked him to take her photo at this island paradise. He obliged, but not before snapping a picture of all of the other “Instagram boyfriends” who had been asked to do the same thing.