Deepening The Gene Pool

Here's another group of people I just don't get... Ice Fishermen.

This is a group of hyper intelligent people who think it would be a good way to pass time by trudging out on the ice of some frozen (or so they think) lake, ponds, ditch, etc, cut a hole in the ice, and wait for something that can barely move to be hungry and swim by.

Yes, they even tell you it's a great sport.

They even spend lots of money buying shanties, which have battery powered electricity or even heat via a small stove (apparently they've forgotten that ice melts when warmed.

I have never participated in this "sport" but something about just doesn't sound fun, challenging, or even the least bit sporty to me.

I also understand that ice fishing is way to get out with the guys and drink beer. Is this a good idea giving alcohol to people already dumb enough to cut a hole in the ice, while standing/sitting on it near a hot stove?

Each year many local fire/rescue squads, or Coast Guard teams pull dozens of folks out of the icey waters, and they all say the same thing - "I was sure it was thick enough." Very often as soon as they are rescued, they dry off and and head back out. In Ohio, near Lake Erie, the Coast Guard had begun a program of charging people $500 per rescue, but it still doesn't stop these brain trusts.

I think we'd all be better off if the rescuers gave the ice fishermen who break through the ice something really useful --like an anvil.