You never know who's watching...

I'll be picking up this week where I left off last week, talking about pool etiquette. I know, by the time you finally pack the car, get out of the house, find a parking spot, drag everything out to the beach/poolside, and slather on the sunscreen, you couldn't give a rat's pajamas what the guy next to you thinks. But this is no time for a lapse in manners! Consider the following warning.


It's pretty straightforward, but pay attention to the details. Clearly there are two people, one of whom, it can be inferred, is swimming. But what else is he/she doing?


That's right, flippin' the bird. Now, it may be justified. The swimmer's motivation is not made clear in the illustration. After all, the other guy may have just kicked sand on the swimmer's blanket. I don't know. But it's pretty obvious that the other guy is shooting LASER beams out of his eyes in retaliation.

The ability to shoot LASERs out of your eyes (also known as an "optic blast") was first brought to the attention of the public at large by the X Men comics. Many of you probably remember the character of Cyclops from the 2000 movie.


But you'd be shocked to learn how prevalent the condition is. Check out this YouTube video. I had no idea that guy had it in him.

And why the pool? Why not be concerned about this at the zoo or the opera? Elementary, my dear Web Surfer. If you recall from X Men, Cyclops wore a pair of ruby quartz glasses that allowed him to control his optic blast. And where does everyone wear sunglasses without looking suspicious? The pool. So take a second to breathe before you do anything rash. You never know who's watching...