That’s why you don’t ship UPS
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I was working on that joke, but I was just too lazy…
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Exactly. I wish people would pay as much attention to real shit that actually matters.
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I have a desk made out of the bones of Cro-Magnon children.
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In related news, vigilante justice is totally acceptable because the way that guy looked, he was gonna hurt somebody real soon.
Here’s a nutty idea, how about reporting suspicion of crimes to the police instead?
What kind of ignoramus would think this rock was going to fall down on someone so urgently that reporting it to a park ranger was just too damn slow in geologic time?
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Do you understand the processes at play here, Hawking? No, you do not. Not all of the formations are that unstable yet. Not all of them will even ever become that unstable. Some will just slump down gradually. For the ones that do, however, there’s a definite endpoint to the whole weathering mechanism. When a person can push a rock that looks to be in the 400-500 lb weight range off its base, that means it has reached its literal tipping point, and will be falling soon. In geological terms, that 5-10 year number really means, “Danger! Imminent rock-fall!”
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Yeah, not terribly bright of them, I agree. As for the comparisons to profiling and such, are you contending that they were repressing that boulder? 
Just because something can be pushed over by a person with leverage, rocking, and force applied in a direction that wouldn’t happen naturally does not mean that natural weathering would have caused it to fall in any timeframe that could be described as “imminent”.
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This video looks like a hoax but i am not sure that the protagonists of this video are in on it. if you look carefully at the material holding the rock in place you will see what appears to be a recent deposit of mud, if indeed it is mud. It could be some other material say, modeling clay. I am sure a park like this is heavily groomed by the U.S. Park Service since it is a popular outdoor spot for young adventurers such at these proud Boy Scouts. Also, it is apparent from some of the comments that this is often used as a location for ads and movies. As well as other mediaa such as calendar art and travel brochures. All of these uses and others no doubt generates substantial revenues. so I am highly skeptical that these rambunctious youths destroyed a 150 - 200 million year old artifact. It could be the remains of a set for a Sci Fi video.
It’s coming right for us!! That rock is coming right for us!! Shoot it!! SHOOOOT IT!!
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From the Wikipedia article on Goblin Canyon State Park: “Although park authorities do not recommend climbing on the “goblins” many visitors do so.”
A kid climbing onto that rock could easily produce rocking, leverage, and force equaling what caused it to topple. Even a nice, well-behaved kid of nice, planet-conscious young parents could do it. As skydivers say, gravity isn’t just a nice idea, it’s the Law.
Again, I think the smart thing to do was to inform the park rangers. If the rock needed to be toppled, they'd make the decision. I just think that, given the story as we know it so far, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. The fact that they're joking about it doesn't make them evil, just annoying.
Oh jeepers! You’re doubling down on the b.s. just like them!
Uh yes, treading lightly in state/national parks is a THING. Most casual visitors know that. Scout leaders should REALLY know that. You wanna keep going with this?
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And it’s the smartest (and funniest) thing in the room.
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Your house is liable to burst into flame at any moment. We’d better level it, for your safety.
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Yes, and it would almost certainly fall at a time when there was no one there.
By Newtom, that’s a national Park and a natural reserve. People who go there have to understand that it’s not some padded outdoor playground. If they want to act like they belong in a padded outdoor playground, they can go the Disney World.
“for the safetey“ my ass. These guys drove there.
Jail is, of course, overblown, but a fine? Hell, yes.
As others pointed out, they could have informed a park ranger. And it should be the park’s call on how to act. Yes, even if that means to take the boulder down.
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Why not waterboarded?
Whoops. I made a mistake. Jokes about torture aren’t funny because our government has recently done that to people. But jokes about eugenics are safe. It is just harmless fun. Carry on. Might I also add that we should probably also sterilize his parents, any kids he has, any siblings, and any nephews or nieces since they might also carry the ‘stupid’ gene. Good fun!
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With only a second-hand knowledge of US culture, I was under the impression that people starting sentences with “Muscles here…” were the ones beating up Boy Scouts and then receiving some serving of comedic justice in the third act of the movie.
And yet one of the Good things about the BSA is that it is generally a bit of a refuge from the nany-state. They don’t generally try to make the outdoors perfectly safe, but instead to teach boys to be safe in the outdoors. Yes, that rock wasn’t going to last all that long. But that’s the POINT of that park: All the precarious looking boulders. They’re NOT going to just fall over. Instead they’re likely to fall over during a storm. I would suggest that instead of tipping over rocks, the leaders should tell the boy scouts to not mess with them, and don’t find a safer place to be when it’s windy.
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There are cliffs at national parks. Think of the children, rent a bulldozer and level them out, hurry! Make sure you bring buzz saws too in case you see a dangerous overhang. Bring the lawnmower in case there is tall grass, the kids might get Lyme disease! Toss chlorine in the pools of water, or streams, in case there are parasites, the children could drink it! Raze the wildflowers to the ground, in case of allergies to bees! I’m sure there is much more we could do to bring safety to children. Or we might tell them not to climb on precarious rocks, you know, teach them something about safety and respect.
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I don’t know what charges should be brought, but I think the punishment should be performing in a PSA about not being a buffoon, and leaving nature as you found it, would be fitting. And maybe some community service detail where they have to pick up garbage at a national or state park. Something that personally drives home the point of actions that ruin the experience for other visitors.
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