We’ve all had picnics go awry at some point in our lives. One of my picnics was overcome by a gust of wind that turned every plate upside down and caused a comical chase of napkins down a hill. Another time, ants overran the picnic before I deployed some useful anti-ant techniques.
But when four American tourists tried to have a calm picnic in East Iceland, they were treated to one of the most original and harrowing picnic-gone-awry experiences in recent memory.
After they had set up their picnic with four chairs and a table, the small section of ice they were sitting on broke off and drifted away into the freezing waters of the Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon.
Fortunately, one of the four was able to jump off the floe in time to go call for help (and presumably snap the image above).
It’s hard to tell whether the image shows a calm group of picnickers carrying about as if nothing were wrong or a pack of tourists so frightened about falling into the icy waters that they didn’t dare move an inch.
By the time responders got to the scene, the small iceberg had drifted more than 30 feet away, but were saved after an hour of having to sit very still. Although we can laugh at this bizarre scene knowing that they made it out unscathed, responders were quick to point out that this could have ended much worse, since icebergs are known to flip over.
Let this be a gentle reminder that the next time you go on a picnic you should always pick a safe and secure spot on solid ground.