America! We’re super fat! We take up multiple plane seats! We drink pudding for breakfast! We sit around on the internet! Well, two thirds of us are – and thanks to them, now fewer of us can fit on boats.
The US Coast Guard is changing its official assumed average weight per individual from 160 pounds (72kg) to 185 pounds (84kg) of American flab, shifting the legal limit of how many people are allowed on a commercial vessel. For instance, NPR reports, “A boat rated for a 16,000-pound (7200kg) capacity would be allowed to carry 86 people under the new rule, compared with 100 that are OK under the current standard”. Luckily, the new rules won’t affect private boats – so feel free to sail out into international waters and have a build your own sundae party with as many obese friends as you want. [via NPR]
Shutterstock/Frank Gaertner