American tourist snaps off finger to 600-year-old Italian statue, says he was trying to measure it

[n2doc]

BY NINA GOLGOWSKI



An American tourist has sparked outrage overseas not for giving the finger but for accidentally taking one from a 600-year-old Italian statue.

An unidentified tourist at Florence's Museo dell'Opera del Duomo snapped off the pinky finger of a statue dating to the late 14th or early 15th century by medieval sculptor Giovanni D'Ambrogio, museum officials confirmed.



The tourist said to have been a 55-year-old man from Missouri, was reportedly trying to measure it when he violated museum decorum by putting his own hands on the marble art work titled, Annunciazione.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/tourist-snaps-600-year-old-statue-finger-article-1.1418763

[jberryhill]

1. Oh come on, it's got nine others

[DetlefK]

3. So do you. :D

[jberryhill]

8. And one of them is busy right here, smarty pants

[DetlefK]

12. Being wagged at me, of course.

[TeeYiYi]

20. Not the wagger; the flipper. Just a guess. :D ..nt

TYY

[kentauros]

18. Yeah, but is it still on your hand?

Or did you take it off to measure it?

[jberryhill]

19. The guy was a surgeon, right?

[kentauros]

22. Surgeons normally work with flesh, not stone.

You're thinking he was a stone-mason-surgeon

[jberryhill]

30. "I'm a doctor, not a stone mason"

[kentauros]

32. I can't see the clip,

but I know the quote

[Politicalboi]

76. He's dead Jim, I'm a doctor

That was funny.

[MADem]

77. Great clip--hilarious...! nt

[CTyankee]

2. what is the MATTER with people?

What kind of idiot thinks it's OK to touch museum pieces, or even get close enough to "measure" it?

[jberryhill]

13. It's not like its the only one they have

Them Italians got gobs of old statues.

I seen one just like that one at lots of garage sales.

[malaise]

26. He's American - he can touch anything he wants

Mess with him and he'll 'drone' you

Seriously that's the definition of the 'ugly American'.

[bettyellen]

29. My aunt once actually picked at a Van Gough !! She was distressed at the waste in the thick layer

of paint "wasted" and basicially trying to chip a little off to prove her point. I was hoping she would get arrested, LOL. But the guard didn't see her finger actually scraping.

At the Met last weekend I could not stand the din of alarms going off as tourists kept trying to touch clothing in the exhibit. The guards couldn't keep up with it, and it gave me a headache. What can I say, everyone acts like they are at the mall or in their living room these days.

[jberryhill]

33. He's got nothing to complain about

He couldn't even keep his ear on.

[bettyellen]

34. heh heh. It's funny, I was in HS at the time and my initial reaction was "Arrest her!", LOL...

my aunt is a sociopath, and I was hoping it would catch up with her someday. No luck.

[CTyankee]

41. an art tutorial in "impasto" would help...maybe...

but art does make some people crazy, or crazier I should say. Plenty of unbalanced people have attacked great works of art...some guy went after the Pieta with a hammer and that's why it's behind plexiglass now...

[bettyellen]

58. there is no help for sociopaths. everyone is wrong except for her... doctors, lawyers,

Albert Einstein and Vincent Van G. Wrong wrong wrong and wrong. I'm not kidding in the least when I say I hoped she got arrested, she gets away with everything. Little old ladies fool everybody!

[William Seger]

67. Years ago, I was in the basement of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

... where they have several sections and one of the control consoles of the Eniac, the first "general purpose" (programmable) electronic computer. It was a weekday afternoon, and no one else was around. The console was just sitting out where it could be touched, and I couldn't resist giving the Speed control (!) a turn. It came off in my hand! I put it back and quickly left.

[Fumesucker]

4. Last name probably Griswold

[boston bean]

28. that made me lol

[dorkzilla]

5. The idiot is actually a surgeon from Connecticut (according to Daily Mail anyway)

Here is their "exclusive":

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2385591/Patrick-Broderick-The-American-SURGEON-accidentally-snapped-finger-600-year-old-marble-statue-Florence-museum-youd-thought-hed-better-hands.html

I suppose it's wrong to assume that an educated person would have the good sense to NOT TOUCH THE ARTWORKS.

Why is it every time I go abroad there are always plenty of Americans acting badly and making the rest of us look like ignoramuses.

[kentauros]

21. Because the ones acting badly ARE ignoramuses.

Airlines need to make Rick Steves PBS shows the only available video entertainment on their media systems. Then, at least, some of these ignoramuses would be educated on how to act while visiting.

[treestar]

48. It's not OK to broad brush and stereotype us all

It would be like saying the French are snobs, or the like.

[dorkzilla]

64. Um...how much time have you spent abroad?

I'm not painting anyone with a broad brush, but if you spent anytime in a major museum, historic site etc the ones asking the most idiotic questions are American.

True story: I went to London a few years ago in the dead of winter, so there were no tourists around. So I went to Hampton Court and had the place all to myself. Anyway, I got a really great private tour, and when the tour concluded i asked him some very specific questions which startled him apparently; as he turned to me and and asked "you're Canadian, right"? After I told him I was from metro NY he said "wow, I'm really impressed. Americans NEVER ask any relevant questions or anything which answer doesn't confirm their 'we're #1 attitude they all seem to have".

A trip to Paris a few years ago--big loud Texans in the back of a double decker bus saying "we are real Americans, not like those liberal snobs".

Btw, I said "plenty" of Americans, not all.

[cherokeeprogressive]

68. coughbullshitcough

[dorkzilla]

70. Well I guess you really told me, didnt you?

Also, you're calling me a liar. I don't appreciate that.

[cherokeeprogressive]

71. What gave them away as Texans?

Their accents? They told you? You asked them?

Or was it their "Kiss Me I'm From Texas" tank tops?

[dorkzilla]

72. They introduced themselves to us and others on the tour and told us so. N/t

[treestar]

82. 5 months in England, 2 weeks in France

one week in Mexico, a few days in Canada, 3 weeks in Australia.

Never saw another American behave badly, behaved well myself.

People in those countries were very nice. One stopped and volunteered to take my photo in front of the Sydney Opera House (I was by myself). People in London stopped to help us when we were looking at maps.

People in Paris were very nice, which I had sort of not been expecting. We were there when Chimpy was still in office.

I heard an Israeli talking from the seat in front of me on a tour bus. He had been to the US as a tourist and he and his wife warmly praised America as very well prepared to welcome tourists.

The who Ugly American thing is a stereotype.

[Ikonoklast]

85. Treestar, don't you know it's only Americans that act like boors when traveling overseas?

People that say that have never seen vacationers from other EU nations at the Costa del Sol acting like idiots.

[PoliticAverse]

6. I'm sure he's not the first Italian to give an American tourist the finger... n/t

[branford]

15. Nice. :)

[HappyMe]

7. What the hell is wrong with people?!

I don't understand why this asshat thought that touching this 600 year old statue was a great fucking idea.

[snooper2]

9. superglue

be like it never happened

[jberryhill]

11. The museum probably keeps it in a drawer someplace

And if the superglue doesn't do it, then just put some duct tape on the back of it and turn the statue a little, so nobody will see it.

Although, when you think about it - a 600 year old statue is kind of dated anyway. They should get some newer stuff.

[branford]

16. You never know when you will need the Gorilla Glue . . .

[steve2470]

66. ah you beat me to the superglue post lol :) nt

[ananda]

10. My first thought, he must be from Florida. But no..

.. it's Missouri.

[liberal N proud]

56. The man is a surgeon from Connecticut, not Missouri,

Read the article again, there is an update.

[LeftinOH]

14. Museum etiquette: Clasp hands firmly behind your back- don't touch

stuff. Lean in close to the artworks and displays to experience them with your eyes (and with the EYES only).

[jberryhill]

17. Oh yeah?

[CTyankee]

37. and ask beforehand if you can use a magnifying glass...

some museums are stricter than others...at the Louvre, you practically have to take off your shoes like with airport security! With others, they allow pics but no flash and some no pics at all. Some don't like the magnifying glass because they fear it would magnify any light that could burn the canvas or panel...and if you get too close, many museums have sensors that will set off an alarm and that is a good way to get yourself thrown out of the building...

[jberryhill]

50. "that is a good way to get yourself thrown out of the building"

And thank goodness for that, because it can be tricky to find your way out on your own.

Although I usually just pull a fire alarm and follow the crowd.

[CTyankee]

51. You could also openly carry a bottle of water, taking regular swigs as you sashay through

the museum. They love to see people with open bottles/cans of liquid in their hands...

[newfie11]

23. Idiot tourist

[pipi_k]

24. Could have been

a whole lot worse...

[branford]

25. That's just . . . wrong! :) n/t

[HolyMoley]

27. There's a fix for that too

[yellowcanine]

43. Well the excuse, "I was just trying to measure it!" would have made more sense.

I mean, who is concerned about the length of a finger? OTOH, a penis.......

[demwing]

47. But I was just trying to measure it! /nt

[Brewinblue]

63. Now that would be a souveneir!

Would have made a great I Love Lucy episode during their trip to Europe.

[NickB79]

79. Indeed

[Turbineguy]

31. If that statue

only had a gun....

[Botany]

35. Has anybody seen Louie Gohmert lately?

[LWolf]

36. Holy shit.

How many more ways will Americans think up to humiliate us?

[actslikeacarrot]

38. First rule of museums...

....don't touch anything. Also, shoegoo. That shit works on anything!

[Javaman]

39. I hate people. nt

[yellowcanine]

40. What a whackadoodle. My favorite comment from the link......

CHILAWYER9 hours ago

Even in this digital age, a finger for a finger. Just pull this Show-Me state bumpkin's pinky out of his nose and whack it off.

[magical thyme]

42. the good news is, per one article I read, it was not the original finger

Apparently it had already been repaired, so he broke off the repair finger.

But still, what is wrong with people that they think they have a right to touch anything they want? What an effing ahole american.

[CTyankee]

55. It is amazing to me that during WW2 the Mona Lisa was carted around France and hidden in

various remote places to keep the German army from finding it and taking it back to the Fuehrer!

In Bruges I saw the damage done to Michelangelo's Madonna when that sculpture was hauled off, first by Napoleon and then by the Germans. It's a wonder it was returned both times safe with only some minor scuffing and chipping.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

73. Yeah, looking at that statue, I would assume it has plenty of repairs done to it.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

44. This could be a future question in the Friday Afternoon Challenge!

[CTyankee]

53. No. After this thread, that would be too obvious!

[Bunnahabhain]

45. This is why us Canucks wear a maple leaf when traveling

And I want you Yanks wearing maple leaves to stop it as you're diluting the brand.

[RC]

54. As a USA'n I agree.

I what to know who the real Canadians are, so I know who to mingle with. Too many USA'ns think the rest of the world is the same as home. Speak louder if they don't understand you.

[jberryhill]

61. Everyone else wears clothes

[Bunnahabhain]

62. That's why we make friends so easily

[struggle4progress]

46. "Wow! What cheap shoddy workmanship! Why don't folk make stuff that lasts?"

[jberryhill]

49. They also make Fiats

Tells you something right there.

[CTyankee]

52. Yeah, there's a reason Fiat stands for "Fix it again, Tony!"

[ChairmanAgnostic]

84. all this over some used marble? It's not even new!

[greytdemocrat]

57. Thankfully the digit was not an original

And will be easy to repair but this just screams dummy!!!

[FiveGoodMen]

59. I thought as much from looking at the picture

[jberryhill]

60. It was digitally re-mastered

[steve2470]

65. Hey, no big problem, you just SUPERGLUE that thing back on !

Ugly American, Exhibit A.

[HereSince1628]

69. What? No DucTape?

[Spirochete]

74. Good thing this buffoon didn't make it to Paris

or we'd probably be seeing this -

[KittyWampus]

75. Peru's most sacred site, Machu Picchu, has been damaged during a shoot for a beer commercial.

Peru's most sacred site, Machu Picchu, has been damaged during a shoot for a beer commercial.

They've struck at our most sacred inheritance. This is an affront to our ancestors

Archaeologist Federico Kaufmann Doig
The Inca citadel, 2,400 metres (7,782 feet) high in the Andes, was being used in the ad for Cusquena beer by US publicity firm J Walter Thompson when a crane smashed into a centuries-old granite sun clock.

The Intihuatana, or "hitching post for the sun", an integral part of the spectacular site which is protected by the UN and is visited by thousands of tourists every year, now has a gash as long as a ball-point pen.


Criminal charges, which carry a two-to-four-year prison sentence have been filed against the production company.

Federico Kaufmann Doig, a prestigious Peruvian archaeologist, said: "Machu Picchu is the heart of our archaeological heritage and the Intihuatana is the heart of Machu Picchu.

[jberryhill]

78. Who issued a permit for that?

[B Calm]

80. Super glue. .

[Dash87]

81. His nationality is irrelevant. I doubt most in Europe care.

This is more manufactured outrage. They can just repair the statue and it will be like nothing happened.

[Sunlei]

83. looks like plaster model w all the fingers on rebarb base.

gorilla glue to the rescue!