It's a summer tradition, but one you should approach with caution.

For years, people have been frequenting public pools to catch a break from the heat. Kids do cannonballs in the water, play with their friends and hit the snack bar, while adults catch some rays, dip their toes and lament how tough it is to find parking. It's a pastime that goes back further than the water goes down in the deep end.

Yet for all the fun we have, going to a public pool brings with it plenty of risk.

There's the whole "Baby Ruth in the water mistaken for poop" thing, first popularized by Caddyshack. Then, there's the chance someone may go number one in the water and the possibility something may go wrong, not to mention all the weirdos who seem to show up. It's enough to make you consider staying home and running through the sprinkler -- or at least splurging so you can show off your water slide skills at a plush resort, if not put on an extreme watersliding clinic.

The hashtag #ThingsToAvoidAtAPublicPool was trending on Twitter on Tuesday and it serves as a public service reminder of what can go wrong. There were plenty of poop in the pool jokes, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. See what else the Twittersphere feels we'd all be better off missing

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