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Statue of giant potato goes viral for phallus shape

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Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="People pose for a picture next to a 5 meter high replica of a potato in Xylophagou village, Cyprus October 14, 2021. Yiannis Kourtoglou, Reuters" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/10/18/20211017_giantpotato.jpg"/><figcaption>People pose for a picture next to a 5 meter high replica of a potato in Xylophagou village, Cyprus October 14, 2021. <em>Yiannis Kourtoglou, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>XYLOPHAGOU, Cyprus - A Cypriot community&#x27;s endeavor to pay homage to the humble spud has gone viral after their 5 meter (16 ft) tall statue of a Cyprus potato drew comparisons to a giant penis.</p><p>The fiberglass replica, which cost 8,000 euros ($9,300) and sits by a main road at the entrance to the village of Xylophagou, has drawn widespread ribbing on social media.</p><p>&quot;Other countries have instantly recognisable monuments, now we have ours,&quot; Euripides Evriviades, who is a former Cyprus ambassador to the UK, wrote on Twitter.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">No. It’s not a homage to the ancient cult of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/phallus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#phallus</a>, a commonly represented symbol in antiquity.<br/><br/>But a monument to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cyprus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cyprus</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/potato?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#potato</a> produced in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Xylofagou?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Xylofagou</a> (Xylophagou) village.<br/><br/>Other countries have instantly recognizable monuments. Now we have ours. 😂<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Unbelievable?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Unbelievable</a> <a href="https://t.co/oWXTL7L01x">pic.twitter.com/oWXTL7L01x</a></p>— Euripides L Evriviades 🇨🇾🇪🇺 (@eevriviades) <a href="https://twitter.com/eevriviades/status/1448938614570749973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2021</a></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><br/>Alongside he posted a collage juxtaposing an image of the Big Potato with the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and Hong Kong Big Buddha.</p><p>But Xylophagou&#x27;s residents are taking the ridicule in their stride, insisting that the beige-colored knobbly design named &quot;The Big Potato&quot; is a faithful reproduction of its main potato crop, the Spunta.</p><p>Community leader George Tasou said those who saw in the statue anything more than a potato was guilty of a dirty mind.</p><p>&quot;That is, I think, talk of a mind possessed,&quot; he said. &quot;Whether we like it or not this potato, the Spunta, is thin and long.&quot;</p><p>Potatoes are the mainstay of Cyprus, known for its rich red fertile soil. Next year Xylophagou plans another novelty with its favorite produce; frying 800 kgs of potatoes in a chip-fest.</p><p>Tasou said work on the Big Potato was incomplete and that it would be mounted in local stone with a bench, a park and a small store, bringing the total cost of the project to 15,000 euros.</p><p>&quot;It will be a landmark,&quot; he said as giggling visitors behind him posed for selfies. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1735231" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

A Cypriot community's homage to the potato has gone viral after their 16-ft tall statue of a Cyprus potato drew comparisons to a giant penis.