[WorldUrbanLegend] Lighthouse and naval vessel

 

The urban legend of the lighthouse and naval vessels revolves around a story about a large naval ship nearly colliding with what initially appears to be another vessel. Typically identified as a warship or aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy or the British Royal Navy, the naval vessel requests the other ship to change course. The other ship is often identified as being from Canada, Ireland, or sometimes Spain, and when the naval vessel demands a course change, the response is, "I am a lighthouse. You decide." This conversation is humorously referred to as the "lighthouse and aircraft carrier" or "lighthouse and warship" joke.

In 1995, this incident was claimed to have been released as a communication record by the U.S. Navy Operations Command, and it began circulating on the internet and various places. However, there is no evidence that this event actually occurred, and the story is considered implausible. Thus, it is regarded as an urban legend, believed to be a variation of a joke that has existed since the 1930s. The U.S. Navy once operated a webpage to refute this story, but in 2008, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell used it as a joke. Other speakers often use this story as a parable about the dangers of rigidity and arrogance, or to illustrate the need for situational awareness. In 2004, a Swedish company produced an award-winning TV commercial based on this story.