How Big Is That Shoe?

Do you remember when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at George W. Bush last month at a Baghdad press conference?

The attack caused a flood of Web jokes, political satire, and street rallies across the Arab world.

Now the “attack” has inspired a work of art—a sofa-sized shoe statue.

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described his fiberglass-and-copper work as a homage to the pride of the Iraqi people. The statue also has inscribed a poem honoring Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist.

Now, I’m tempted not to comment and just let you comment away and share your thoughts about this. To see if you are angry or amused.

Well, I’m not going to wait for the two or three of you who comment regularly to do so. I’ll go ahead and share my thoughts about it.

At first glance, I was kind of angry about this monument going up. After all, this man attacked our President. And, whether that President is George W. Bush or Barak H. Obama, it shouldn’t matter—an attack is an attack!

But, just look at the monument! It is a monument of a shoe! A fiberglass-and-copper shoe! And, a big one at that.

But, is that monument any more ridiculous than some of the monuments we have in our own country? What about these:



This massive prairie chicken is propped up in the small town of Rothsay, Minnesota. From the plaque: “Prairie chickens moved ahead of the settlers to inhabit the prairies of Minnesota. A large concentration of the protected bird can still be seen on prairie meadows of the Rothsay area. In the early spring the male prairie chicken performs his mating ritual called booming. This statue of a booming prairie chicken was designed and built by Art Fosse with assistance and funds from the community. The statue stands 13 x 18 feet and weighs 9,000 pounds. It was placed on this site and unveiled, June 15, 1976. “



The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial that commemorates an unnamed American Patriot general, Benedict Arnold. The monument commemorates Arnold’s contribution to the Continental Army’s victory over the British in the Battle of Saratoga. Arnold was wounded in the foot during the Arnold expedition as well as at Saratoga near where the monument is located. The injury effectively ended his career as a fighting soldier. Benedict Arnold is not mentioned by name on the monument because, several years later the wounded Arnold turned traitor to the United States and joined with the British and their Loyalists. Arnold attempted unsuccessfully to hand over his American command, West Point, to the British. Although this attempt failed, Arnold was given the rank of a British brigadier general and the British exchequer paid him £6,000.

So, tell me your thoughts. Found any strange monuments that you want to share with us? If so, include a link here and others can enjoy a great laugh as well.