Ear: Googly

Many cities are in the throes of Christmas decorations and holiday cheer, etc. Except Bend, that is. This year, googly eyes glued to art installations are getting all the attention and laughs. In an Instagram post, @cityofbendoregon huffed:

“ … While the googly eyes placed on the various art pieces around town might give you a chuckle, it costs money to remove them with care to not damage the art. While we don’t condone the wreaths, leis and Santa hats, let’s stay away from adhesives, graffiti and all things that can damage the art.”

The responses were predictably snarky. Two samples: “Nah, the googly eyes have to stay … read the room,” and “Hopefully this post inspires more googly eyes!”

The city is not amused. Bend’s communications director René Mitchell told The Associated Press that the adhesives that hold the eyes on can damage metal coatings, which would be expensive to repair.

Bend’s artful tempest in a teapot even achieved national attention when it was jokingly mentioned on Stephen Colbert‘s “The Late Show” recently. Meanwhile, the googly-eye gluer is still at large. (Photo: City of Bend)