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A water tower in a small American city was named the world’s most phallic looking building.
Residents of Ypsilanti, Michigan, have had to stare at the unfortunately nicknamed “The Brick Dick” since 1890, when it was erected to hold 250,000 gallons of water to address the lack of running water in the town at the time.
The tower, which measures 45m in height and 26m in girth, is made of limestone, a material hard enough to ward off damage caused by cold weather blowing down from Canada for the last 133 years.
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The capped dome at the top of the tower has led residents of the small city to make the lewd comparison.
The tower is located at the highest point of the city, and is registered with the US’ National Register of Historic Places, meaning the city can’t tear it down even if it wanted to.
Its central location has made it one of the most recognisable spots in the city of 21,000 people, with residents often using it as a meeting place.
The tower’s long and proud history has sparked many urban legends amongst the city’s residents.
Students of the nearby Eastern Michigan University tell each other that the tower will only fall if a virgin ever graduates from the university.
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Despite all the giggles going around in recent years, the building wasn’t always seen as a monument to masculinity.
In fact, the tower was built as a monument to the city’s namesake.
In front of “The Brick Dick” lies a bust of Demetrios Ypsilantis, a hero of the Greek war of independence.
The city was named after him when it was founded in 1835 during Greece’s revolution against the Ottoman Empire.
Superstitious workers who built the tower built four crosses into the brickwork of the structure, which can still be seen to this day by eagle-eyed visitors.
The tower was crowned “The World’s Most Phallic Building” in 2003 by Cabinet magazine.
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