They’re a bunch of pissers.
With July 4th falling on a Friday this year, the American Automobile Association expects 72.2 million Americans to be hitting the roads and airports.
Many of those travelers will most likely plant their patriotic selves on a beach somewhere to celebrate America’s birthday. Now the question is, will these beachgoers behave?
According to a new study by Beach.com, 92% of Americans have engaged in rude beach behavior — like setting up camp on top of other people or playing music too loudly — but that’s not even the worst of it.
Most of the study’s participants are guilty of peeing in the ocean on any given beach day.
Yes, 70% of US beachgoers confessed to going waist deep into the ocean to relieve themselves instead of finding a nearby bathroom. 18% of people find this tinkle habit annoying — but what they don’t know won’t hurt them.
Other beach confessions included drinking alcohol on beaches where it’s prohibited (49%) and stealing sand or shells (38%) — which is a tad more innocent than the potty one.
Almost 30% of the people surveyed are aware that their obnoxiously loud music playing on the beach annoys others — but that doesn’t stop them.
According to the study, 2 in 10 Americans smoke on the beach — despite others probably holding their breath while the beachy breeze blows the stinky smell in their faces.
Loud tunes and smoke aside, 82% of participants said the most annoying thing fellow beachgoers can do is litter — but only 1 in 4 actually admit to doing it.
In terms of who is guilty of this naughty beach behavior, it’s no surprise that older folks are a more considerate group compared to Gen Zers (30%), who are the most rowdy ones.
Millennials (26%) and Gen X (23%) aren’t in the clear as they fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to engaging in impolite beach behavior.
To conduct this research, Beach.com asked over 1,000 American men and women participants — aged 18-77, who visit the beach at least once a year — which behaviors they find irritating and which they partake in.
If you want to relax — or pee — on a beach this weekend but prefer to stay local, Cooper’s Beach on the Southhampton shore has been ranked the best beach in the country by Florida International University environmental sciences expert Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, aka “Dr. Beach.”
He earned this nickname by conducting annual rankings of beaches since 1991.
