Hilarious Beach Fails That Are Getting Way Too Much Attention
There's nothing like a summertime trip to the beach: The sand is warm on the feet, the waves crash rhythmically onto the shore, and the threat of failure somehow seems very close at hand.
Not every beach trip ends in failure, but there's something about this sandy setting that lends itself to poor decisions. Save yourself a trip to the beach by letting these pics serve as a cautionary tale.
Completely surrounded.
You can't go to the beach and not expect to encounter some wildlife, from flies to fish to dogs to seagulls. The exact fauna you see will vary depending on location, and sometimes things can get downright scary.
We're not sure where in the world this pic was taken, but it honestly looks a little bit scary. Those monkeys probably don't pose a threat to this woman, but they absolutely pose a threat to her snack.
Only on South Beach.
This interesting dude was spotted at South Beach. He's either a remnant of the unfortunate early 2000s trend of super baggy pants that reveal underwear, or he's doing this for different reasons.
In all likelihood, this guy has a pair of expensive boxers. Unfortunately, real life doesn't give us many opportunities to show off our boxers in public, so this guy decided to do anything necessary to draw attention to himself.
That's beach justice.
Some images have a certain intangible quality that qualifies them as a hard image. This pic, showing Swedish police office Mikaela Kellner tackling a pickpocket at the beach, certainly qualifies as a hard image.
In case you're wondering, Swedish police don't typically wear bikinis as their standard uniform. Kellner was off-duty at the time and just trying to enjoy a day at the beach when she saw the pickpocket, prompting her to spring into action.
Making new friends.
Turtles big and small are no strangers to the beach, and sometimes they'll apparently come right up for a photo op. I'd be truly unnerved by this big beast sidling up to me, but this woman is a little more brave than I am.
It just goes to show that as much as we can try to plan out the perfect beach photo, the best photos sometimes come about through sheer happenstance.
Lock it or lose it.
Flip flops aren't usually the most expensive or high-tech footwear out there, but when you find a good pair, you don't want to let go. That's probably what's going on here, as these flip flops are protected by a heavy-duty bike lock.
While it's hard to imagine that anyone would steal what looks like a $10 pair of flip flops, it's better to be safe than sorry — and that lock is a great deterrent.
I have questions.
There's nothing wrong with taking pics at the beach, in fact, it's one of the best locations and backgrounds in which to do some photography. I'm just a little weirded out by this photoshoot.
Without any added context, all we can really ascertain from this photo is that she's a gymnast, she's at the beach, she has a cat, and said cat is not particularly thrilled about the current situation.
He came prepared.
If you look close at this photo, you'll see that this guy is resting his head on the smallest, cutest little beach chair you can imagine. It doesn't look that comfortable from a distance, but he seems to be fine with it.
The real tragedy in this photo is the lack of shade or sun protection. He's clearly having a great nap, but he'll wake up as red as a boiled lobster. At least he won't have a stiff neck.
Going for a walk.
Dog owners pretty much owe it to their dogs to go to the beach now and then, as it offers a fantastic sensory experience for any mutt.
There's walking your dog on the beach, and then there's your dog walking itself on the beach because it's apparently figured out the art of bipedal movement. Either that or this is just a photo that was snapped at the absolute perfect time.
Not a bad spot.
We've seen people drag actual couches to the beach, but this guy has a better idea — one that requires less heavy lifting and is probably almost as comfortable as a real couch.
Of course, this sand couch won't have the staying power of a real couch, and will be gone forever come high tide. But the memories of peacefully passing out on a perfectly-sculpted sand couch will be with this guy forever.
The gang's all here.
When you go to the beach, what do you want to get out of your pictures? Most of us probably want a few scenic shots to go along with some selfies to remember the day by.
Of all the things on a beach pic bucket list, "selfie with a friendly stingray" might not rank high. But now that we've seen the results, it's hard to not want this for ourselves. It's too bad it's usually a bad idea to play around with wildlife.
I think it's a trap.
If you ever see a crisp dollar bill folded in half on the ground, don't pick it up - it isn't worth the possible reward of just one dollar, particularly when there's a decent chance that someone put something nasty in the fold.
If you ever see a crisp dollar bill folded in half, literally in the clutches of a crab's claw, don't pick that one up either. In this example, the reason is self-evident.
Planted.
You've just gotta love photos that show one person chilling out and doing their thing, completely oblivious to the fact that the person behind them is going through somewhat of an ordeal.
There's something about sand that makes it super easy to faceplant in the stuff. If you've ever experienced this unfortunate event, just be thankful that your embarrassing moment wasn't captured on camera and then uploaded to the internet.
Couldn't 'Dodge' those waves.
This is the spectacular aftermath of a failed commercial shoot. Dodge wanted to show how tough their $60,000 truck was, so they brought it to the beach for a video shoot.
As it turned out, the truck wasn't durable enough to withstand some waves gently lapping up against it. I really love the defeated posture of the guy standing on top of it. It's kind of like the Titanic, only less tragic.
Just guys being dudes.
Is there a particularly good reason to dig a big hole at the beach, then get inside the hole with a bunch of friends, then use a beach umbrella to give your project a roof?
Well, no, there isn't really a good reason for doing this. But at the same time, there isn't a good reason for not doing this. You're at the beach, and sometimes you just need a beach project.
In perfect sync.
These ladies have executed this photo just fine, but let's be honest — this is a pose and a pic that's been done a million times before. There's nothing special about it.
That is, of course, until you look in the background. Some hero floating on the waves has managed to make himself a part of the pic without even trying. It immediately elevates this pic into an all-time classic.
Almost perfect.
When college cheerleading teams hit the beach, it's only natural for them to want to practice some of their routines. This is an impressive routine indeed — for most of the people involved, at least.
This pic shows us what we can accomplish with teamwork, while simultaneously showing what can happen with a lack of teamwork. At the very least, with a lack of training. Hopefully, everyone was okay.
A lemon-lime shower.
This is some clever branding, with Sprite making a beach shower look like a gigantic soda fountain. At least I'm assuming it's a regular shower with regular water, and not actual Sprite.
Sprite is obviously a refreshing and delicious beverage, one that's well suited for beach days. I'm just not so sure that getting doused in sticky Sprite would be anybody's idea of a good time. Then again, different strokes for different folks and all that.
A tale as old as time.
Seagulls are vicious, aggressive birds who will absolutely make their presence felt. Because they'll never take 'no' for an answer, it's important to be particularly mindful of them if you're trying to enjoy a snack.
Step one is getting surrounded by an ominous horde of squawking seagulls. Step two is one of them making a move. The next step can be seen in the final frame of this image.
Swinging a little too hard.
The beach is a great spot for taking photos of any kind, and some families go the extra mile by doing a professional photoshoot with the sand and waves as their background. Sometimes, this doesn't work out.
"A while back, we tried to take family photos at the beach," wrote the person who posted this, adding, "The results were unexpected." I'd argue that the results were totally expected, but that's just me.
A tactical strike.
While we've seen videos of people getting their hats snatched by birds, it takes real talent (or maybe just dumb luck) to capture the exact moment of the thievery in a still image.
It's hard to know whether this guy is even aware of what's happening in this split-second. Either way, he's about a second away from losing that hat forever. Hopefully he wasn't too attached to that headwear.
Forever alone.
We all know that the beach is the place to be for carefree fun in the sun. But the beach is also an underrated spot to sit alone and ponder the existential things in life.
I'm not up on my Sesame Street lore, so I'm not sure if Grover is a particularly sad monster on the show. But based solely on this pic, it seems like he's a character with some big feelings.
There's a lot going on here.
Assateauge Island offers miles of fantastic beaches just off the coast of Maryland. Unusually, it's also home to a feral pony population. This might sound delightful, but these ponies often get too close for comfort.
Local laws are in place that basically say the ponies own the beach. Humans have to stay at least ten feet away from them at all times, even if the rude ponies have stolen the humans' prime spot on the beach.
Get it?
"Going back to work next week," wrote the original poster. "Trying to convince my colleagues I had a beach holiday." The joke, if you're having trouble keeping up, is that the guy has a prosthetic, wooden leg.
If you get around using wooden prosthetics, two things: First off, you're partially bionic. Secondly, you're not going to tan that stuff like you would with the rest of your body — but wood varnish is always an option.
That pic will turn out great.
Photographers know that it's sometimes necessary to contort yourself into odd and unflattering angles in order to get the perfect pic. It's just part of the cost of doing business.
That's exactly what this guy's doing here, but the subject of his pic is...his vape. It's hard to fathom exactly why he thought this was a pic worth having. It also isn't worth the mockery. At least the background should look nice.
We're missing part of the story here.
Devoid of any context, it looks like someone hobbled up to the shore using their walker, then...spontaneously abandoned the walker to become one with the ocean. Maybe it's a miracle and they were able to swim. Maybe it's something darker.
In any event, this isn't something you see everyday, and for that we should all be grateful. I just wish we knew a little more about what went on here.
That's tough but fair.
It would be disappointing indeed to get all geared up for a beach day, make the drive, park the car, and then find that your entire species has been banned from the beach in perpetuity.
Considering all of the damage we humans have done to our waterways and oceans, though, this kind of makes sense. After all, if people can't be trusted to use something responsibly, they deserve to get it taken away.
Enjoying reality.
The beach is truly a feast for the senses, a place where the body feels just a little bit more alive thanks to the gorgeous surroundings. Why on earth would anyone decide to augment the situation with a VR rig?
Looking at this a little more generously, though, maybe this kid just wanted to bring his beach experience to the next level. If the beach by itself is great, surely the beach with virtual reality will be even better.
A rare find.
I'm not sure what this doggo's humans were going for here — some kind of prehistoric beast with a long tail, perhaps? Either way, they did a great job of sculpting the sand, and their dog looks to be unusually tolerant.
It kind of feels like they managed to get this one pic before the dog had enough and jumped out of the sandy depths. At least they got a good pic out of it.
He's unimpressed.
Burying yourself or your friends up to the neck in the sand is a time-honored beach tradition, one that makes for memorable pics and fun times. This doggo is very tolerant to allow his humans to do this to him.
While the dog is grudgingly allowing this, his facial expression absolutely says it all. Sometimes you're willing to go along with things despite your reservations, and that's obviously what's going on here.
A millisecond before disaster.
This guy looks like a total showoff with this pose, but it's a decent pic to encapsulate his day at the beach, and the photographer snapped it at the perfect time.
What the guy doesn't know in this instant is that there's a dog, mouth wide open, about to clamp down on the nearest thing it can bite. We can all see what that nearest thing is. I'd love to see the aftermath of this one.
Rihanna would be proud.
Rihanna hails from the Barbados, which makes her music and overall vibe a perfect match for sunny days at the beach. A Redditor spotted this guy with a metal detector and an ode to one of Rihanna's songs on his shirt.
The guy posed for the pic and acknowledged that he didn't buy the shirt — his family did. But given the wordplay and the reference to metal detecting, he couldn't not wear it.
Wait, what?
When you bury yourself in the sand at the beach all the way up to your neck, it makes you look like a headless body. This woman managed to make herself look like a headless body in an entirely different way.
Is this actually two women, one with a buried face and the other with a buried body? Is it a camera glitch? Photoshop? It's hard to say for sure.
Thanks for letting us know.
Beachgoers love to write words in the sand and take pictures of said words, because apparently it's the only way to attach descriptions to their photographs. It looks like that's what this woman was going for here, but the message is different from what she planned.
There's a lesson here: if you want to pose with a message in the sand, don't trust anyone else to write out that message for you.
Influencing is tough work.
Let's not be too hard on people who take photos like this at the beach. After all, beach photography has existed for as long as photography has existed, and people have always been vain.
At the same time, the number of couples taking essentially identical shots in this photo is absolutely ridiculous. It just shows, in a nutshell, that so much of the stuff that you see on Instagram is completely unoriginal.
Showoff.
There's something about the beach environment that compels people to show off and demonstrate their unique abilities. Football players will throw footballs, cheerleaders will do acrobatic routines, and these ladies will do...whatever it is that they're doing here.
We shouldn't judge, because this obviously made for a memorable picture, and by posting it here we're giving them the attention they want. I just hope that the one on the left was able to untwist herself after the fact.
Read the sign, guys.
Signs are such a great invention. They tell us useful information at a glance, and we can read and interpret this information in order to be better informed about the world that surrounds us.
Alternatively, we can see a sign that's literally warning us about a dire threat to human life, consider the implications, then decide to ignore it entirely so we can wade into shark-infested waters. We all have free will, after all.
What a novel idea.
This is kind of a funny message to put on the sign, and a bit of a burn in terms of judging those who are connected to their phones at all times.
I wonder if the person who put this sign up just has a thing against smartphones, or if this beach has visitors who genuinely expect a sandy beach and coastline area to have super-fast wifi connectivity. At least the sign implies they'll be up to the conversation if we ask.
When you're winning at the beach.
One of the challenges when it comes to beach visits is where to sit. Are you going to go the minimalist route and sit directly on the sand or a towel, or are you going to lug chairs all the way to the beach?
It can't have been easy to drag this couch into the surf, and it'll be even harder to drag it back once it's waterlogged. But it's hard to deny that this guy is the comfiest person at the whole beach.
Photo op time.
The guy who's giving out all the piggyback rides in these photos explained on Reddit, "My lady friend wanted a piggy back picture on the beach and a random biker watching the sunset said he wanted one too."
This is such a wholesome pic. While asking random strangers for piggyback rides might seem a little odd, the end result is pretty heartwarming. This is a beach win, not a beach fail.
Where does it go?
The beach is usually pretty easy to find. You just drive or walk until there's nothing on the horizon but sand and water. Stop before you hit the water, and you're officially at the beach.
Some beaches, or at least this particular beach, apparently need a door to provide entry. While beachgoers could simply walk around the door, I'd want to take the door just to see if it offered a unique experience.
Sun worshippers come in all shapes and sizes.
Anyone who's ever visited the piers of San Francisco knows that harbor seals are basically like us: They just want to lounge around lazily in the sun, waking up occasionally for food.
So while it might be a bit unnerving to get a tan next to a full-blown seal, check your privilege. That seal is at the beach for the same reason that you are. There's no reason you can't both coexist.
A ticket for looking too good.
This historical snapshot shows us an Italian police officer writing a ticket because of the woman's bikini back in 1957. It's hard to believe that her outfit would be deemed inappropriate, but standards were different at the time.
Considering the fact that 1957 is recent enough to be within living memory for many people, it would be interesting to see people who were alive back then react to the typical Italian beach today.
More than one kind of thief.
We've been over the whole seagull threat thing, but what about beach raccoons? We might associate trash pandas with urban areas and garbage day, but these capable critters can thrive in any number of environments.
They're fast and nimble, and also have claws and teeth. They're basically designed to steal your food away, and leave you with no recourse to do anything about it. That's just how it goes with raccoons and beaches.
A little too close for comfort.
"My stepdad got bitten by a pelican this morning at imperial Beach!" wrote this Redditor who uploaded a pic from this California beach.
Getting bitten by a pelican would be alarming at best and terrifying at worst, but this guy seems completely unphased by it. It either hasn't registered that he's getting bit, it's a particularly gentle bite, or maybe it isn't this guy's first rodeo when it comes to pelicans. We'd have to ask him.
Yowch!
This shows the immediate aftermath of a dog that was running along a beach when it unexpectedly got snapped at by a crab. The Redditor who posted it notes that the doggo "hit the eject button."
The fun thing about beach crabs is that they're equal opportunity attackers, which means that they're just as likely to go after you as they are to go after our canine friends. Fun!
The moment of impact.
You can tell that this was supposed to be a standard-issue group shot at the beach. If it had worked out that way, this pic would probably be forgotten today. But because of the whole beach ball thing, this pic is an all-timer.
I wonder if the beach ball was just a random fluke, or if someone off-camera decided they didn't like not being involved in the pic and decided to ruin it with a well-aimed toss.
Down he goes.
Everyone has bailed in an embarrassing and catastrophic way before, and anyone who says they hasn't is obviously lying. Most of us are fortunate enough to catch ourselves, or at least not to be photographed mid-fall.
Unfortunately for this guy, his hilarious fall was captured in full view of the camera. This pic was snapped just after he went down, but before he could start assessing the pain and embarrassment.
This is a Renaissance painting.
Kangaroos are more than just the hopping, pouch-bellied mascots of Australia we all know and love. They're also powerful, intimidating, and ornery critters. It's best to appreciate them from a distance.
This photo captures one of the most epic animal encounters we've ever seen: Two kangaroos, silhouetted by the setting sun, in the middle of a fight. The one on the right has just delivered a devastating dropkick square to the chest of the one on the left.
Who's going in the hole?
It might not be quite as epic as the kangaroo battle seen above, but this fight offers plenty of drama — just look at their impassioned faces.
What I don't understand is what they're fighting over. Are they squabbling over who gets to go in the hole? Maybe they're fighting to be the one who doesn't have to go in the hole. I just wish we could all get along.
Baby's first beach day.
That foamy water at the beach isn't going to hurt anyone, but it's still something you don't really want to get all up in your face for the simple reason that it's gross and smells funny.
Babies don't have the ability to shield themselves from things like this happening, though. This is the first trip to the beach for this baby — and if this photo is indicative of the overall experience, it might be their last trip as well.
So much to unpack here.
This photo shows, in just one frame, the absolute chaos that a single bird can unleash on a group of beachgoers. It seems like they were asking for it by having a table set up with delicious, seagull-friendly treats.
Some people are pretty chill about birds invading their space. Other people, as seen here, turn into absolute cowards and run as far away as they can. I'd be part of this second group.
Caught in the act.
If you haven't learned any lessons about seagulls yet, we can't help you. They have no regard for us, and care only about snatching our food away. If you see or hear seagulls anywhere near the beach, put your food away.
This photo shows that they can utilize many tactics to their advantage, including swooping in from above and snatching your ice cream cone away while completely inverted.
Picturesque.
Dogs and beaches go together like nothing else, so it stands to reason that dog owners might want a pretty beach picture showing their pup on the sand.
Unfortunately, dogs and pooping also go together really well, and dogs also don't really care about posing for pictures. This photo shows a gorgeous sunset and someone's beloved dog — it just isn't quite the vibe the photographer was going for.
Crabs, man.
This photo shows the moment after this guy was bitten by a crab. It seems so cruel that beaches pretty much necessitate taking one's shoes off, but are conversely full of things that you don't want to be barefoot around.
This is just talking about the shore, mind you. Once you venture into the water, there's a whole world of sea urchins and other pointy stuff to step on. Why do we go here again?
When disaster strikes.
This photo shows a fascinating split second. It's too late for this baby not to spit up — as you can see, it's already started to happen. In just a second, things will be far more gross.
But in this moment, things are fine. The disaster has started to happen, but it hasn't reached anyone's attention yet. If you could just freeze things here, it would be perfect.
What a cool trick!
"A photo of myself taken many years ago, the girl next to me had pushed me off," wrote the Redditor who posted this. While doing this is a big-time bully move that could get someone hurt, it's still a hilarious photo.
I'm guessing that this was not at all fun in the moment for the victim of the pushing, but the photo that resulted from it kind of makes it all worthwhile.
Dogs being dogs.
What were we saying about dogs doing dog things, even when you just want a nice photo? Well, here we go again. It's a decent pic of the dog walker and their dog, a decent pic of the dog in the foreground, and, uh, a crappy pic of the dog on the right.
It's hard to fault dogs for doing what dogs do, but it can be frustrating when they can't behave themselves for one photo.
Nice day for a lobster roll.
A day at the beach, with a picturesque New England lighthouse in the background, practically calls for the East Coast treat of lobster rolls. It's the perfect snack for a day at the beach.
Unfortunately, seagulls like lobster rolls just as much as humans do. Seagulls also have the advantage of wings and an ornery attitude. It's the seagulls' world, we're just living in it — especially when it comes to beachside settings.
It didn't go as planned.
I have no idea what these two were going for here — probably some kind of jumpy-flippy thing that could be really impressive if it was executed with any degree of precision.
In this case, they did their best, and their best failed miserably. Let's hope that the inevitable faceplant wasn't too painful. At least the sandy surface makes for a relatively soft landing spot for smashing one's face against.
Not all beaches are warm.
"I asked my boyfriend to get a cute picture of me by the ocean at Brimketill, Iceland," wrote the Redditor who posted this. It looks like she picked the wrong time for a photo.
There are many ways to fail at the beach, and this shows us that posing for a photo in the middle of winter at an icy beach with high waves is simply asking for trouble.
