Rubbing a statue for good luck or just because it is there has been a long tradition in many cities. Now Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling the rub.
The Portuguese footballer was honored with a statute at the Juventus player’s museum in Funchal, Portugal. His prominence on the field of course would bring people to see this 11-foot statue of the player, but once there, the attention may be going to one specific part of the effigy. Since being unveiled in 2014 the statue's crotch has been rubbed so much the bronze finish has worn down. May it be the oils in our hands or the rubbing of his nob, the bulge stands out even more.
Hmmm, we're wondering if there's any statue bum rubbing going on. Someone go take a pick of the back side for us.
Yes, the statue's hands are as well shiny from use/touching, but as you can see, people are gravitated toward the crotch.
We're not sure if the hands or the crotch are grabbed more, but both areas of the statue have a nice shine.
And it's not just a maybe. The shine can even be seen at night.
Some just want their picture with the 11-foot replica and may be a little embarrassed about the rub being so obvious and take a step back.
But there are many statues that have suffered the same fate.
Heard of Victor Noir?
Victor Noir, a 19th-century political journalist, is one of those people who will be better remembered in death than in life. Shot in a duel by Prince Pierre Bonaparte in 1870, he became a symbol of the imperial injustice and a martyr for the Republic.
Victor Noir is nowadays one of the most visited residents in the graveyard, right after Jim Morrison and Allan Kardec. His popularity is not because of his talent as a journalist, nor his symbolic role, but lies in the notorious lump in his pants. A generation of superstitious (or just randy) women have decided that taking indecent rubbings of Victor’s impressive girth could prevent infertility, and perform these rubbings in more than the traditional manner.
Victor Noir’s lips and groin are shiny and nickel-clean, while the rest of his body presents the greenish tone of oxidized bronze. In 2004, when a fence was erected around Victor Noir’s tomb to deter fertility-seekers from carnally touching the statue, women were so offended that a few noisy protests were staged in the cemetery, enough to have the fence torn down. – atlasobscura.com
She's saying women are doing this, but we all know a statue is an equal opportunity pleaser.
And here's a couple more rubbed clean statues for your consideration. We just hope Ronaldo's crotch doesn't have the same fate as Juliet's right breast.
