The World Is Home To Some Weird And Wonderful Places
Everyone knows about the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal, but humans haven't only made beautiful and timeless pieces of art. We've also ventured into the spheres of weird and wacky from satirical statements to just plain head-scratchers. Here are 20 of the world's most bizarre landmarks you've got to visit.
© Tormod Sandtorv on Wikimedia Commons
1. Le Pouce - Paris, France
Among the ornate architecture and countless historic artworks in Paris, Cesar Baldaccini's "Le Pouce," a sculpture of a giant thumb sticks out like, well, a sore thumb. It was erected in 1965 in the city's business district and is flocked to by tourists who see it as a symbol of good luck.
2. Vegreville Pysanka - Alberta, Canada
The Vegreville Pysanka is a giant Slavic-style easter egg by Canadian-Ukrainian artist, Paul Maxym Sembaliuk to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The area of Alberta where it was placed is notable for its high Ukrainian-Canadian population.
Mack Male on Wikimedia Commons
3. The Child Eater - Bern, Switzerland
This gruesome sculpture atop one of Bern's oldest fountains depicting a man eating babies dates all the way back to 1546. No one knows the story behind this weird piece but there are many theories including that it might be depicting Kronos, the Greek Titan.
JoachimKohler on Wikimedia Commons
4. La Fourchette - Vevey, Switzerland
Lake Geneva is home to "La Fourchette," a 26-foot stainless steel fork weighing over 900 pounds. It was created in 1995 to celebrate the anniversary of a food-themed museum in the town.
User:Markus Schweizer on Wikimedia Commons
5. Door to Hell - Derweze, Turkmenistan
The "Door to Hell" is a continuously burning 200-foot wide, 65-foot deep crater in rural Turkmenistan. It was formed in 1971 when a Soviet oil rig fell into the crater. A geologist set fire to it in an attempt to get rid of the rig but because of all the gases, it hasn't stopped burning for 53 years.
© Tormod Sandtorv on Wikimedia Commons
6. Headington Shark - Oxford, Britain
The Headington Shark appears to be the body of shark crashing into the roof of a home in Oxford. It was commissioned by the owner of the house who was a radio broadcaster in 1986 to protest American troops bombing Libya.
Balon Greyjoy on Wikimedia Commons
7. Hand of the Desert - Atacama, Chile
Chile's Atacama Desert is home to a curious and whimsical sculpture of a giant hand reaching for the heavens. It was the creation of Mario Irarrázabal and is meant to signify human isolation, despair, and vulnerability.
Nicolas Valdes Ortega on Wikimedia Commons
8. Boll Weevil Monument - Enterprise, Alabama
The Boll Weevil Monument depicts a female figure elevating a trophy topped by a giant beetle above her head. Commissioned by the town's citizens in 1919, it stands out as the first monument to commemorate an insect. The arrival of the boll weevle was detrimental to cotton production so it encouraged the town to diversify their agricultural practices, prospering enormously.
Carol M. Highsmith on Wikimedia Commons
9. Bronze Breast - Amsterdam, Netherlands
A bronze sculpture of a hand caressing a female's breast sticks out among the cobblestones on a pathway in Amsterdam.
It's one of many anonymous works by the same artist sprinkled throughout the city.
10. The Manneken Pis - Brussels, Belgium
Some of the best-known symbols of Belgium include art nouveau architecture, delicious beer, waffles, and, oddly, The Manneken Pis, a statue of a urinating boy in the center of Brussels. The story goes, this young boy saved the city by urinating on a fire that would've devastated it.
Trougnouf on Wikimedia Commons
11. Upside Down Charles La Trobe Statue - Bundoora, Australia
This monument of Charles La Trobe is a traditional commemoration in every way except for one thing: it's turned upside down, balancing on its head. The artist's reason for inverting La Trobe could be a statement about the British lieutenant-governor not being well seen in Australia.
12. Man Hanging Out - Prague, Czech Republic
"Man Hanging Out," a depiction of Sigmund Freud suspended above the buildings, hanging on for dear life, has made more than a few passersby double-take. It was created by Czech artist David Černý as a statement about 20th century intellectualism.
13. Floating Baby Statue - Singapore
In Singapore's Gardens by the Bay, British artist Marc Quinn's of a colossal baby seemingly floats above the grassy hill, city scape in the background. The majestic sculpture is a portrait of the artist's seven-month old son.
14. Verity - Ilfracombe, England
This towering sculpture depicts a pregnant woman standing on a pile of law books, sword aloft, carrying the scales of justice.
Walk to the other side and you can see her entrails, including the foetus. The work refers to truth and justice and her stance has been likened to Edgar Degas' Little Dancer of Fourteen.
Ian Capper on Wikimedia Commons
15. Monumento al Mate - Coyhaique, Chile
If you've spent any time in Chile or know anyone from there, you'll know how much they love their mate (a type of strong tea). So much so, they even have a giant monument depicting a hand hoisting a cup of it above the ground.
Lin linao on Wikimedia Commons
16. The Largest Ball of Twine - Minnesota, USA
The world's largest ball of twine is the claim to fame of the town of Darwin, Minnesota. The story goes that a man in the town started this twine ball, rolling it for four hours a day. When he passed away, the town continued his tradition.
17. St. Wenceslas Riding A Dead Horse Upside Down - Prague, Czech Republic
Another quirky piece by David Černý, St. Wenceslas Riding A Dead Horse Upside Down depicts a triumphant king riding astride an upside-down, apparently dead horse. Although the artist has never specified his intentions, this sculpture may be a satire of the famous statue of King Wenceslas or of the Czech president Vaclav Klaus.
Patrick H. Lauke on Wikimedia Commons
18. The Alton Barnes White Horse - Alton, England
In 1812, a farmer commissioned a painter to cut a horse into the hillside. Perhaps the strangest aspect of this landmark is that no one seems to know why the farmer commissioned it in the first place, but it still stands today and can be seen galloping high in the hills of Wiltshire.
Amanda Slater on Wikimedia Commons
19. Cadillac Ranch - Texas, USA
This art installation in the Texas desert consists of a row of many generations of spray-painted Cadillacs nose-first in the sand. The cars are inclined at the same angle as the great pyramids and show the evolution of Cadillac's characteristic tailfins.
20. The Georgia Guidestones - Georgia, USA
The most bizarre feature of this monument is not the landmark itself, but the mysterious message written on it and the motivations behind it. They were commissioned anonymously in 1980 and they contain "instructions" for the survival of humanity in eight different languages, calling for population control and world governance. The stones have garnered a wacky cult following.
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