# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 314
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6263 "2026-08-19T22:36:52Z")
There is no such thing as a mosquito-free beach. Regards, Lived in Florida my whole damn life (except for 3 months in Atlanta). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6264 "2026-08-20T07:44:57Z")
Hmm. My FL experience is only the last ~15 years in pretty much only Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. No skeeters yet. That whole region was DDTed to eternal toxicity back in the 1930s - 1940s when the ICW was being built. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6265 "2026-08-20T12:57:28Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > There is no such thing as a mosquito-free beach. The beach by my house on the western shore of Lake Michigan is where we go to to get away from mosquitos. They don’t like the cooler air there. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6266 "2026-08-20T13:20:40Z")
The beach on Topsail Island is mosquito-free. It’s too windy. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6267 "2026-08-20T17:31:40Z")
I recall reading for the 2017 solar eclipse NOAA received phone calls demanding it be scheduled for the evening so families could enjoy it together. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6268 "2026-08-20T22:51:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My FL experience is only the last ~15 years in pretty much only Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Interesting. My wife got chewed up at the beach at Las Olas. But she is a natural mosquito magnet. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The beach by my house on the western shore of Lake Michigan is where we go to to get away from mosquitos. They don’t like the cooler air there. That’s not a beach. It’s a lake shore. I’ve also heard that the skeeters up that way carry off small dogs and children to eat them later. > [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > The beach on Topsail Island is mosquito-free. It’s too windy. Okay, this one I will grant. Although the last time I stayed there, the sand gnats were so bad, I think I’d rather have fought off the mosquitos. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6269 "2026-08-21T00:09:28Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > That’s not a beach. It’s a lake shore. LOL LOL My beach [![](https://i.postimg.cc/XqHDjFHQ/20260817-143155.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/XqHDjFHQ/20260817-143155.jpg) Finer sand you won’t find on most ocean shores. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6270 "2026-08-21T00:23:56Z")
I did actually forget a smiley on that one… Looks a lot like the sugar sand like we have on the Redneck Riviera. Caused by the fact that the sand there is primarily quartz washed down from the Appalachians. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6271 "2026-08-21T01:02:45Z")
Water. Sand. Yup, I’m calling that a beach. And isn’t it on a great lake? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6272 "2026-08-21T01:25:50Z")
Although, ocean beaches are typically much wider than Great Lakes beaches, at least at most tides. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6273 "2026-08-21T01:55:30Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Water. Sand. Yup, I’m calling that a beach. And isn’t it on a great lake? Well, a pretty good lake… how far north was that pic taken? I’d assume the farther north, the fewer skeeters. (We love going up near Oostburg, like Kohler/Andre State Park… wide beaches and good dunes up there). But if you want sand dunes, the eastern shore of Lake Michigan gets a lot more sand, including some monster dunes. [![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600b99ba6c455e4aedf8914a/e21d3f96-4a40-4a79-a4a0-255e00664a82/warren+dunes+beach.jpg) ](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600b99ba6c455e4aedf8914a/e21d3f96-4a40-4a79-a4a0-255e00664a82/warren+dunes+beach.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6274 "2026-08-21T13:09:56Z")
> [@digs](#): > > how far north was that pic taken? I’d assume the farther north, the fewer skeeters. A few miles south of Kohler Andrae, a few miles north of Harrington Beach. And mosquitos are pure misery for us at times when off the beach and up into the dune grass. But close to the water seems to offer protection. I’ve walked down Sleeping Bear dune on the eastern shore in MI. Then hiked south out of the park. The walk back up was too tedious. But the view from above and below was amazing. Another view of my beach is below See ya at Judi’s some day! [![](https://i.postimg.cc/0NcNFRwj/Last-flower-of-Telperion.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/0NcNFRwj/Last-flower-of-Telperion.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6275 "2026-08-22T00:46:28Z")
> **[Archery Feat](https://xkcd.com/3288/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/archery_feat.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/archery_feat.png) “Update: I would not have embarked on this powerscaling venture if I’d known how thoroughly Mark Twain was going to roast me.” ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6276 "2026-08-22T15:24:42Z")
Looks like somebody saw _The Odyssey_ over the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6277 "2026-08-22T16:57:08Z")
_The Odyssey_, _[William Tell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell_(2024_film))_, and _[The Death of Robin Hood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Robin_Hood)_. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6278 "2026-08-22T18:13:57Z")
With a nod to “[Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses](https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/projects/rissetto/offense.html)” in the alt-text. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6279 "2026-08-22T18:52:22Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Finer sand you won’t find on most ocean shores. Late post, but we Michiganders know our beaches compare favorably with any in Hawaii, Florida, the Amalfi coast or anywhere else. And we are perfectly happy that nobody else realizes this and we have them to ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6280 "2026-08-22T20:06:22Z")
@Toxgoddess , it looks like your reply window got into WYSIWYG mode, and it further looks like you’re the type who doesn’t use that mode. Click on the slider in the upper-left corner of your reply box. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6281 "2026-08-22T20:34:30Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > and we have them to ourselves. … for the 3 weeks in summer when the ice sheets have retreated enough to see the sand. Conversely, here in SoFL we have 50 weeks a year of swimsuit weather & two weeks of long pants & sweatshirt weather. So our beach sand is always visible and almost always useable. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6282 "2026-08-23T02:03:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > our beach sand is always visible and almost always useable. yeah, next to all the salty water! I didn’t know not to open my eyes under water in the ocean my first time I visited it, age 4. I screamed bloody murder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=313) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=315)