Proving once and for all the things you learn in cartoons are actually useful in real life, three men were rescued from a tiny Pacific island after writing a giant SOS sign in the sand that was spotted from above. The AP reports:

The men had been missing in the Micronesia archipelago for nearly three days when their distress signal was spotted Sunday on uninhabited Pikelot Island by searchers on Australian and U.S. aircraft, the Australian defense department said Monday.

The men had apparently set out from Pulawat atoll in a 7-meter (23-foot) boat on July 30 and had intended to travel about 43 kilometers (27 miles) to Pulap atoll when they sailed off course and ran out of fuel, the department said.

I wonder if they decided to write the SOS sign before or after they built a bunch of coconut radios. Also, I can’t help but be reminded about this Far Side strip:

Keep going for a few more pictures and a really poor quality video of the rescue.

Source: Geekologie – Three men rescued from tiny island after writing ‘SOS’ in the sand