Speedos Are Now Globally Approved?

That’s right. The majority of the world — including Americans — believes it’s completely acceptable to wear Speedos to the beach. The skimpy swimsuit stat comes from Expedia.com, who surveyed more than 8,000 people across the globe. Here’s what the online travel agency has to say:

Much to our surprise (and some peoples’ disgust), it revealed that wearing a Speedo gets two thumbs up from most of the world. That’s right, Speedos are now globally-approved. 65% of beachgoers worldwide reported finding that Speedo-style bathing suits are “acceptable.” This percentage was highest in France, where 9 out of 10 respondents (91%) were A-Ok with Speedos. U.S. beachgoers, however, were split at 52%.

Other — ahem — revealing findings in the survey include the statistic that one quarter of beach-going respondents are comfortable with topless beaches (in France, that number skyrocketed to 73 percent of respondents) and 54 percent of Americans cited “having wallet/possessions stolen” as their biggest concern at the beach (even over shark attacks). For more findings, check out Expedia’s Flip Flop Report.

British theme park bans Speedos – to protect the children

British theme park Alton Towers has decided that guests wearing Speedos are no longer welcome in their park.

The iconic “show your bulge” swimming trunks are deemed unfriendly to families, and possibly scary to kids.

Of course, the whole argument is based upon standards gone crazy, because 20 years ago, beaches were full of men wearing their Speedos, and as far as I know, there have been no mass outbreaks of adults requiring mental care to suppress flashbacks of their childhood trips to the beach.

The park is so hell-bent on protecting the children, that they are even considering offering complimentary male waxing services, you know, so the poor kids don’t see little hairs coming out the side of daddy’s trunks.

I’ve got a much more “European” opinion of the Speedo – if you can pull it off, do it. My biggest concern is people who can not pull it off, yet do it anyway.