The infamous and hotly-debated controversy over shallow-water navigational methods which pitted the skiff/dinghy dealers against the hip-boot manufacturers. On the one hand, it is indeed simpler and easier to paddle ("row") a punt around the shoreline as opposed to slogging heavily ("wading") through the mud, but the boat tends to scrape bottom whenever there's anyone sitting in it. This dilemma was further exacerbated back in the mid-20th century with the advent of the notoriously-unreliable Sears&Rowback outboard motor, which often necessitated both paddling AND squish-squooshing over pebbly jagged-seashell-flecked muck to return to the dock from whence you came.
The U.S. Supreme Court was obliged to delay judgement on the "row versus wade" debate pending further developments; they promised to rule on the case once humans gained control over tidal movements.
by QuacksO August 10, 2018