Google Chrome can not open local HTML files

So I’m trying out Google Chrome browser for Mac, and it works pretty much the way I expect a good browser to work.  What would make it even better is if it could open HTML files.  I will have to do some research, but I’m hoping this is just a typo and not a policy or “feature” about not opening local HTML files.

Google Chrome (Mac) can't open "HTML document" format

Even if this is a bug, the user experience is not very good here — users expect browsers to open HTML.  Maybe the message could be a little more informative here Google?  Maybe something like: “The document could not be opened because we made the rest of the browser so amazing, we forgot to handle local files.  You’ll get this feature in the next automatic update”.

Not to dwell on this too much — but — the message really caught me off guard.  It’s a little bit like a refrigerator with a sign on the door that says, “This refrigerator can not keep your food cold”.  Maybe Google is trying to be funny here.  Maybe.