Whether you like Pokemon Go or not, the game is here to stay. But there’s a time and a place for catching tiny AR creatures, a fact that seems to have bypassed some players. So far Pokemon aficionados have committed crimes, invaded hospitals and the Scientologists, and pissed off the entire nation of Germany.
We’re only a week in, and already there’s an unbelievable list of dumb places people have played Pokemon Go. If you’ve seen worse, please email me; otherwise, sit back, and revel in other people’s misfortune.
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18. Nuclear power facilities
Either you’ll get shot, or have to explain to a jury of your peers what Pokemon Go is.
OPG tells "Pokemon Go' players the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is no game – https://t.co/s6jgXoV6vH pic.twitter.com/kojuuE3FkN
— Durham Radio News (@DurhamRadioNews) July 13, 2016
17. Other people’s houses
Is a crime still a crime if it’s done for Pokemon? Yep.
Cops warn Pokémon Go players: Please don’t trespass to catch ‘em all https://t.co/ao7hlGIS16 by @cfarivar
— Ars Technica UK (@ArsTechnicaUK) July 12, 2016
16. Elementary school
Trespassing bad. Trespassing into an elementary school, where you may well get on the sex offender registry and be ruined for life, extra bad.
On an adventure to catch a Pokemon w/ @Trenticon13. It's trying to get him to trespass into an elementary school.
Lmfao. This is a bad idea
— Peeve (@Peeverson) July 7, 2016
15. The Church of Scientology
This is only bad because it might give the Scientologists the impression that they’re popular.
The Church of Scientology has finally proven its usefulness by being a PokeStop. #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/s19m9xUXUk
— Adam Fletcher (@PezRadar) July 9, 2016
14. While your wife is giving birth
“She wasn’t mad. She gave me an eyeroll once she realised what I was doing”
13. The White House
I guess if you’re going to play a smartphone game while visiting the nation’s seat of power, at least do it right
https://twitter.com/WaladShami/status/751870197967888385
12. Court rooms
I wonder if playing Pokemon during your sentencing counts as contempt of court.
Going to court is not a game: Pokémon Go trainers should look elsewhere for digital critters. pic.twitter.com/XOGC3nxswG
— Dept of Communities & Justice – safer together (@NSWJustice) July 12, 2016
Found Pokemon in the court room👌🏽 pic.twitter.com/jSONk3s4hk
— Kellogg (@kelceymarsan) July 11, 2016
11. The Vatican
There’s probably a joke here to be made about the Catholic Church using new-fangled technology to lure in impressionable children, but let’s just read this excellent comic instead.
https://twitter.com/TGNSquadron/status/751689625211666433
10. Hospitals
Leaving the scary imagery of Pokemon attacking sick people aside, it’s not really fair to pick a Pokemon fight with people who are stuck in bed.
https://twitter.com/neuroticxme/status/751453621305303040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
9. Arlington National Cemetery
We do not consider playing "Pokemon Go" to be appropriate decorum on the grounds of ANC. We ask all visitors to refrain from such activity.
— Arlington National Cemetery (@ArlingtonNatl) July 12, 2016
8. A funeral home
7. Anywhere with dead bodies, really
So I just spent the evening catching Pokemon with friends at a cemetery and having raccoons chase us. pic.twitter.com/YOtBNRAkXG
— Andrew (LGSC) (@luxurygaysc) July 13, 2016
6. Strip clubs
Strip clubs: famously tolerant of people pulling out cameras and recording things
Looks like there's a PokeStop at the strip club by work. Don't think this stop was meant for all ages… #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/PDdLh0gKsa
— Gajan Kulasingham (@gogogajman) July 8, 2016
5. Public washrooms
Using a camera in a public washroom is never OK. Not even for Pokemon.
No worries fellow bathroom members – I'm not taking a douchey mirror selfie. I'm just playing Pokémon pic.twitter.com/pkedobBaJ8
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) July 11, 2016
4. An actual minefield
History books, 2046: “The Pokemon Wars of 2016 started innocently enough, with a battle over a gym between North and South Korea. But it wasn’t long until the two sides deployed heavy artillery to gain control of that rare Pika.”
3. The front line of the war against ISIS
2. The Holocaust Memorial Museum
Should go without saying, but apparently it needed saying
We welcome & encourage visitors to use technology to engage w/our exhibitions & programs while being respectful of our role as a memorial.
— US Holocaust Museum (@HolocaustMuseum) July 12, 2016
1. Auschwitz
You probably didn’t think there existed a worse place than the Holocaust museum to play Pokemon, but you’d be wrong. It turns out that while you shouldn’t catch them all in Nazi Germany’s deadliest death camp, you can, and some people have.
https://twitter.com/Desareon/status/752889237276463104
According to the New York Times, the Auschwitz Museum has asked for the game to be removed from its premises.
