Consider this a public service announcement.

I have always felt like the costumed characters at theme parks had a pretty thankless job. My biggest aversion to the job used to be the thought of how hot it must be inside one of those get-ups.

But still, I figured, it must be fun to make all those kids happy.

Now, thanks to a video of theme park photos circulating on the Web, my eyes have been opened to a myriad of indignities that the people who portray characters at theme parks must suffer.

Besides the crotch-grabbing children -- and wow, there must be a lot of crotch-grabbing children -- there is always that chance that a camera will catch you at just the right second and make it look like you are ogling a tourist in a tank top. Worse yet, your prosthetic spindly fingers could get caught in a tourist's tank top.

The world has Ellen DeGeneres to thank for this eye-opener. She asked viewers of her talk show to send in their theme park photos that "just aren't right."

Take a look before you apply for that costumed character job next summer.

Filed under: North America, United States, Theme Parks