Monday, July 26, 2010

Summertime Fun--Makes Me Smile




CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — Predawn pranksters have surrounded a roadside surfer statue with a papier mache model of a great white shark that appeared to be swallowing it whole.

Crowds of gawkers and photographers gathered around the 16-foot creation after the sun rose on Saturday.

The bronze statue has been the target of a series of gags in recent years. It has been bedecked with bras, skirts and witch hats so many times that locals have come to call it "The Cardiff Kook."

"This is the biggest and best so far," retired Navy dentist Bob Olson, 66, told the Los Angeles Times. "I don't know how anyone will outdo this, but I'm sure they'll try."

San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Tony Ray said no criminal report was filed because there was no damage to the statue.

"It wasn't considered vandalism because there wasn't any permanent defacing," Ray told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The $120,000 sculpture called "Magic Carpet Ride" was commissioned by the Cardiff Botanical Society in 2007.




Funny!

I suspect the shark was created by a team of college students--perhaps art students and/or engineering students. Such a project may have taken weeks to finish and it would have been hard to keep it a "secret." Certainly, others would have noticed this project going on! It probably took at least 4 people to transport it and set it up.

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3 comments:

Chris said...

First!

Anyway, that looks pretty cool. I remember Dave and I putting soap bubbles in a fountain and ran away to tell the tale. Not sure if it is considered vandalism or not, but it was fun. Another time, I remember going ice blocking, and when the guard came to get us, we threw our ice blocks in the little pond and ran away. It looked funny though. Ice blocks floating like icebergs.

Anonymous said...

That's awesome! That's something I would have liked to do!

So, kudos to them for being creative. We need more people who find humor in the everyday things.

Jam In Stew said...

It's nice to hear about people being creative with things and NOT being destructive. That really was an ingenious and well thought idea.