Originally published at: Town in Japan spent $228,000 of Covid relief fund on this large pink squid statue | Boing Boing
…
1 Like
The statue has already helped teach me that flying squids are a thing, but it will probably be a bit before I make it back to Japan.
19 Likes
This is a good use of Covid relief funds. Artists and craftspeople need to eat.
21 Likes
I suspect Adrian Veidt had a hand in this.
26 Likes
I see what you did there.
11 Likes
In the very least the idea doesn’t sound misplaced as one might guess from the headline. The fund was intended as an economic stimulus package, and “economic stimulus” is practically code for “encouraging people to spend money on things they don’t strictly need right now.”
25 Likes
I love that these things exist and now I know about them. Between the two of us, that’s $114k worth of knowledge apiece and I think it’s worth it.
6 Likes
Not to mention that there’s definitely something to the tourism angle. I can’t fault this project at all. $228,000 is very small fraction of $7,000,000.
6 Likes
If I still lived in Japan, I’d already have a bunch of pictures in front of this statue, maybe enmeshed in the curled tentacle, maybe legs sticking out of the beak-hole. And I’d buy the obligatory omiyagi, maybe kick back at a local onsen and izakaya. I can easily see myself dropping 15,000 to 30,000 yen on a visit to the giant pink flying squid. 
4 Likes
Will there be (adult cosplayer) Japanese schoolgirls? Because that’s got to happen.
1 Like
Probably as POV shots with the squid in VR so you can pose the tentacles or a kelp screen/bed for the ‘photographer’ just so. The starter pix will be giant Bidens visiting the Carters in their kelp bed or giant squid encounter, or Bernie with mittens trying to grill squid.
Hello, I’d like to speak a bit about careers in Hot Nursing, and the current squid appraisal system which relies heavily on published orgasms…
10 Likes
My first reaction was, “What a scam!” but on further reflection the role of the relief funds was to help them recover from Covid. This includes long-term economic recovery. It sounds like tourism is important to this city, so they build an attention-getting icon. You may scoff at the squid, but it is getting international attention, so kind of a success IMO
6 Likes
I used to live in Ishikawa for more than three years, and I went to Noto once, I think. It’s way outta the way from much of anywhere.
The blurry bars on the video are an abomination.
Maybe some blurry bars on the sides so it fills my screen?
That’s a bit of a two-for-one.
1 Like
Well, there this thread went, right into the gutter…
6 Likes
happy cake day! long may you floss.
5 Likes
By the looks on the internet, they’ve got pretty good publicity for the given budget. That much money won’t buy a 30 second TV ad in Tokyo, let alone worldwide viral posts. Besides someone was employed in that town to build the thing. Money well spent.
5 Likes
That’s the gutter? Does Squid Girl have a seamy side I’m not aware of?
6 Likes
4 Likes
