Headline of the Day

4 Men Finally Charged With Stealing Famous Golden Toilet Worth Nearly $6 Million Once Offered To President Trump

—Forbes on the theft of an art installation from the birthplace of Winston Churchill

As Anna Russel would say, "I'm not making this up, you know."

The golden toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace on September 14, 2019, shortly after 5 a.m. local time, according to the BBC. British police arrested seven people in the four years since the toilet was stolen, though only four were identified and charged. The toilet, titled “America,” was created by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2016, according to the Guggenheim Museum. Cattelan said the artwork was a commentary on the “ever-increasing divide between the wealthy and the poor” in the U.S., according to the museum. The toilet was moved to Blenheim Palace in September 2019 just days before it was stolen.

………

The toilet was fully functional and available to guests at both Blenheim Palace and the New York-based Guggenheim Museum, where the toilet was first installed in 2016. Before the toilet was stolen, visitors to Blenheim Palace could reserve a three-minute appointment to use it. The Guggenheim Museum noted that more than 100,000 people waited in line to use the toilet, which was installed in one of the museum’s gender-neutral bathrooms. The toilet’s removal from Blenheim Palace—built in the 18th century—caused “significant damage and flood” to the building, according to the Associated Press.

The toilet has not been recovered.  It was likely melted down. 

I am stunned that some of my online British friends were not involved.