Walking Britain’s ‘deadliest path’ | Hacker News Reader

Walking Britain’s ‘deadliest path’

washingtonpost.com

63 pointspseudolus11 comments

Walking through the sea at low tide is quite common on the German North Sea. One can actually walk between some of the islands. A guide is recommended though. It‘s not healthy to be caught by the flood way off land.

http://archive.is/ywjEe

We used to play there as kids, it never felt dangerous. Occasionally somebody would get stuck and the group would pull them out. We used to occasionally play rugby there too.

Yeah. I'm not even that old but that it's become more and more fashionable to hand wring about the danger of every activity that is more hazardous than typing at a computer, things that people did and have done for generations, is something I'm not a fan of. Like, god forbid someone walk on the mud flats. The fact that this was a regular daily activity once upon a time is a pretty good indication that it's not all that dangerous.

Edit: I forgot that this is the internet where it's impossible to be too conservative about safety.

Hey, being able to freely access any information is also dangerous. Try searching for information on knives, swords or drugs on a new SIM card in the UK. Can't do it (even with a card and bank account on file), God forbid you accidentally buy a knife or find out how a prescription drug interacts with alcohol or something. You need to phone daddy ISP and confirm your age, using the same card that they have on file.

Can you provide me some information about the difficulties you believe I should be experiencing when I "search for information on knives" with a "new SIM card" in the UK, or what would happen if I somehow bought a knife (without searching for information about it first, presumably)?

You cannot access torrent sites (ok, understandable), forums discussing drugs, websites selling cutlery and firearms, some websites deemed inappropriate (porn, mostly) on mobile networks without having to call them, prove your age and unblock. Try it. The filter is active on PAYG and contract.

> The fact that this was a regular daily activity once upon a time is a pretty good indication that it's not all that dangerous.

Sure, like drink-driving or smoking

I read somewhere that quicksand material has a higher specific weight than the body. In other words there's a physical limit of sinking depth, but I think it's easy to panic and make stupid but fatal mistakes.

If you want deadly British tidal flats, try Morecambe Bay.

If you enjoyed the atmosphere of this article, I cannot recommend The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald enough. An account of a semi-hallucinatory walking tour with frequent diversions into local and international history set in the same part of England.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com