Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by londons_explore 2380 days ago
I'd be interested to see the distribution of amounts of sand stolen per person.

If 10% of people steal a shot-glass of sand as a momento from a beach 100 meters X 100 meters which has 1000 daily visitors, the sand goes down 1cm every hundred years, which is waay slower than sealevel rise.

If people start taking sackfulls home, the balance changes quickly though.
1 comments
maury91 2380 days ago
usually, there are pictures in the articles with images of the stolen sand.

The majority of time is not a shot-glass, but more like a bottle.

Here some pictures:

https://www.ilmessaggero.it/photogallery_img/MED/31/07/44531... https://www.repstatic.it/content/nazionale/img/2019/04/26/11... https://filecdn.nonsprecare.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/FU... https://www.gelestatic.it/thimg/xdU2x4YwGfNp33fZp0ePMCBh38M=... https://trekking.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/copertina1-10...

A shot-glass is around the tolerable level because it's the amount of sand you find in your shorts when you are back home from the beach.

link
homonculus1 2380 days ago
Whatever department manages the beaches should insert themselves into this practice to moderate it. Sell pretty glass display bottles that are more attractive than a bag or soda bottle, but happen to be tiny. This wouldn't work if it inspired enough people to start collecting to outweigh the savings from intervention.
link
maury91 2380 days ago
99% of the beaches are unmoderated (is an island so we have a lot of them). Tourists are usually caught at the airport or boarding the ferry (only 2 ways for leaving the island). Sometimes they are also spotted while they steal sand on the beach by the locals, that stops them and call the police.
link
londons_explore 2379 days ago
The government should sell little glass test tubes for $5 each (ie. A very inflated price compared to the 10 cents such glassware costs). Put a government logo on them and a serial number.

Then put up signs at beaches saying "Taking sand is illegal unless you do it in a government vial". Allow tourist sellers to resell the vials on the beaches.

Then at airports and ports, allow those vials to go out filled with sand. Ban the import of vials (probably no need to enforce, because filling tiny containers is unlikely worth it on a criminal scale).

It's a very low effort way to tax a product without requiring tax returns and paperwork.

link
jacobwilliamroy 2380 days ago
Stamp their passports! No more Sardinia for them! Ever!
link