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Viral Penis-Shaped Ice Rink Returns to Novosibirsk

Novosibirsk photographer Slava Stepanov’s aerial photo of the rink’s phallic shape last year went viral on social media. Slava Stepanov / Vkontakte

A viral penis-shaped ice rink in Russia’s third-largest city has re-opened for the holidays, becoming a point of local pride while the city’s mayor continues to deny its suggestive shape. 

While the rink looks like any other ice-skating rink from the ground, Novosibirsk photographer Slava Stepanov’s aerial photo of the rink’s phallic shape last year went viral on social media.

“Honestly, both this year and last year, the shape of the ice rink was the last thing we were thinking about," Novosibirsk Mayor Anatoly Lokot told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

"We thought about the space and maximizing the territory that can be occupied by the ice rink in order not to create crowding," he said.

Lokot went on to suggest that the rink’s phallic resemblance exists only in the perverted minds of its viewers. 

“In the summer, nothing comes to anyone’s mind. … As soon as the ice appears, someone's imagination begins to play up. I hasten to assume, not a healthy imagination,” Lokot said.

Local residents seemed to welcome the rink’s return. One young woman even got a tattoo of the ice rink in a gesture of hometown pride. The tattoo shows the ice rink, with a pair of ice skates hanging below it, surrounded by the words “Thank God I’m from Novosibirsk.”

 

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