"It's a question of degrees. What's stupider? Letting your 7-year-old drive the family SUV during a rainstorm? Or filming the whole thing and posting it on YouTube?

Yesterday, the father of the unnamed pint-sized Quebecer who has become an Internet sensation after he was seen piloting a car along a dirt road, spoke to French-language television. Identified only as "Sylvain," he said the incident took place two years ago. He tried to explain away the dangers of the situation, saying the road was deserted and that the car never got above 40 km/h. However, none of the family of five was wearing a seatbelt. A woman in the back seat is seen holding a child on her lap.

In an act of contrition, Sylvain said he's willing to accept whatever legal consequences authorities deem proper. Quebec police continue to investigate the incident. Sylvain also said he regrets the whole thing. Presumably, the part he regrets most is his strange urge to show off two years after the fact. It's probably no consolation, but he has plenty of company.

When it debuted in 2005, YouTube's defining genre was the "ill-advised stunt." Or even better, the ill-advised stunt gone wrong. But however foolish it is to advertise how your roof jump into the swimming pool suddenly turned into six months in traction, it isn't going to land you in jail.

That makes that early group of Mensa candidates marginally more intelligent than Sylvain and this new wave of YouTube braggarts:

• April 2008: British actress Tricia Walsh-Smith posts a series of increasingly bizarre screeds on YouTube lashing out at her soon-to-be ex, Broadway producer Philip Smith. The videos of a bug-eyed Walsh-Smith rambling about her husband's sexual shortcomings are a big hit. But citing the "callous" Internet campaign, a judge boots her out of the couple's tony Park Ave. apartment.

• January 2009: After being robbed at gunpoint in his Atlanta home, hip-hop star Soulja Boy describes a chaotic scene involving a half-dozen thugs and machine guns. Shortly thereafter, the offended intruders post a video refuting those claims. "We only used one gun to rob you!" the pair of assailants protest, holding up a pistol.

• February: An amateur horticulturalist from Somerset, England uploads a series of videos documenting the growth of his marijuana crop. Unfortunately, his cunning ruse – using his real name as his screen name – doesn't put police off the scent.

• March: A Subway sandwich artist tries to branch out into abstraction. A video showing him "abusing" the sub toppings works its way onto the Web. An angry customer recognizes him. This woman must really love her Subway, because not only does she call police, she also attacks the offending videographer with a stool.

• April: Seven budding demolition experts from Maine post a video in which they firebomb a vacant building. Showing their faces was risky. Rolling credits at the video's conclusion was idiotic. All seven face arson charges.

• June: A Welsh teenager uploads footage in which he's seen firing an air gun indiscriminately. Authorities get interested when he dubs in real gunshots. A heavily armed police tactical squad eventually pays him a jarring visit. "The individual involved clearly has a talent, which has been misdirected on this occasion," says one officer.

There are way too many stupid people people out there.