# Senegal unveils 50m eyesore in Dakar **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936 "2010-04-04T18:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/21 "2010-04-05T17:32:36Z")
the wind blown look makes the woman appear to be wearing a bicycle racing helmet and the man looks like Kryten from Red Dwarf. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/22 "2010-04-05T18:43:14Z")
Ugly, yes. Sexist, no. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/23 "2010-04-05T18:50:19Z")
> [@wolfstu](#): > > [This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_and_Kolkhoz_Woman) was my first thought on seeing it, but in that enormous statue, the man and woman are independently and similarly strong. :smack: **That’s** what this statue was reminding me of! I kept thinking how “Soviet” it looked but couldn’t quite place the specific thing that was bothering me. You’re right on point with your comparison, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/24 "2010-04-05T19:22:16Z")
What North Korean company built it? Did a North Korean artist design it? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/25 "2010-04-06T02:17:33Z")
Yea, I’m kinda seeing the sexist thing to. There’s not really any question whose in charge in that family. But then, I doubt Senegal is a very active bed of feminism, so I guess its not particularly surprising that the statue reflects the culture of the people that, well, made the statue. Beyond that, I kinda like crazy over the top State architecture, and this is certainly over-the-top. ETA: Plus, as a proud citizen of the country that funded [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/George_Washington_statue_1.jpg), I can’t really give anyone too much grief about weird, vaguely totalitarian statues. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/26 "2010-04-06T04:27:03Z")
Maybe it was just a communications mixup, like the Stonehenge model in **Spinal Tap** : sculptor: Oh my lack of god, Dear Leader, I thought he said he wanted it to be 60 meters! 60 centimeters certainly makes more sense… Dear Leader Kim: Mmmm, no, I kind of like it now that I see it. You did a good thing here, and for that you and your family will be spared from being liquidated…for now. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/27 "2010-04-06T07:49:02Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > There’s not really any question whose in charge in that family. The child? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/28 "2010-04-06T14:38:24Z")
Personally, I love [this parody](http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2010/4/3/201043183844513734_8.jpg)(from the Al Jazeera article). ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/29 "2010-04-06T17:03:55Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The child? Like master-blaster? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/30 "2010-04-06T17:33:17Z")
That would tie in with Equatorial Guinea’s planned Thunderdome. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/31 "2010-04-06T17:57:56Z")
[This line](http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/03/senegal.statue/?hpt=T2) from one of the news reports is interesting. > [@](#): > > In exchange for the money to build the statue, North Korea received a piece of Senegalese land, Abrassart said. I wonder what piece of land they got. I’ve got visions of North Korean rockets in Senegal. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/32 "2010-04-06T19:39:40Z")
Goodness, what isn’t sexist about it? The woman has no agency or activity at all; her feet aren’t even on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/33 "2010-04-06T19:48:42Z")
Sorta like a Senegalese counterpoint to this: [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048\_182cbf070d.jpg](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048_182cbf070d.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/34 "2010-04-06T19:59:06Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Sorta like a Senegalese counterpoint to this: > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048\_182cbf070d.jpg](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048_182cbf070d.jpg) > > 😃 WTF? Attack of the killer babies? Explain please. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/35 "2010-04-06T20:07:20Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > WTF? Attack of the killer babies? > > Explain please. In the Senegal, the Baby is the **leader**. 😉 It would be a hoot to have these two statues directly opposite each other … The pic is from a bizzare sculpture-park: [Baby bashing statue... explanation? - babies nude sculpture | Ask MetaFilter](http://ask.metafilter.com/149475/Baby-bashing-statue-explanation) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/36 "2010-04-06T20:16:45Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Sorta like a Senegalese counterpoint to this: > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048\_182cbf070d.jpg](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048_182cbf070d.jpg) Damn! I just saw you post this over in the Tabasco-baby thread, and I was going to comment that it was like a sequel to the Senegal statue. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/37 "2010-04-06T20:19:58Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Sorta like a Senegalese counterpoint to this: > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048\_182cbf070d.jpg](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048_182cbf070d.jpg) > > 😃 Hehe, that one is awesome. It’s like someone was reading a Calvin and Hobbes snow-goon strip while drunk and decide to commision a real one based on it. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/38 "2010-04-06T20:23:15Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Damn! I just saw you post this over in the Tabasco-baby thread, and I was going to comment that it was like a sequel to the Senegal statue. Well, now we know what the Senegalese sculpture-baby is pointing at, right? Not “the future”, “progress” or “prosperity” - but a bottle of tabasco sauce! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/39 "2010-04-06T20:28:29Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Hehe, that one is awesome. It’s like someone was reading a Calvin and Hobbes snow-goon strip while drunk and decide to commision a real one based on it. It would have been awesome if Senegal had unveiled their 50m statue - and it was something truly odd like that. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/40 "2010-04-06T20:37:51Z")
It offended the local religious nut jobs and might actually bring in tourism money to a city that could use it. I have seen and heard of worse things and far worst wastes of money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936.md?page=3)