They were the world’s most lovable people.
Officials in the central Oregon city took to social media to claim they weren’t laughing after someone or several people placed googly eyes on sculptures in several Bend roundabouts late last year.
But all the others were. Following an article in The Oregonian/OregonLive, there was a shout-out on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, coverage in The New York Times, and a Facebook post from BBC News that received almost 90,000 likes.
A Bend man is now taking blame for the prank along with a number of others.
Jeff Keith, 53, the founder of a nonprofit organization in Bend that combats sex trafficking around the country, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that one night in early December, he placed googly eyes on two statues in roundabouts, paused to take pictures, and then walked away. In a matter of days, multiple additional plastic eyeballs surfaced on different monuments throughout the city, however Keith says he was only in charge of the first two.
Many people believed that the $1,500 expense of removing the adhesive was worthwhile, according to city officials.
In reference to the prank, Keith said, “It’s reminding people that we need to take a moment and just laugh, especially with all the heavy stuff that’s going around the world.” He also said that he contacted the city to cover any damages.
A Bend representative refused to immediately respond to inquiries concerning Keith’s involvement as their offender.
Spokesman Jacob Larsen stated in an email that the municipal staff is concentrated on budget preparation, council objectives, city operations, and wildfire preparedness. According to what we understand, a community member might be curious about the impact of the googly eyes, but neither municipal employees nor we are actively seeking anything at this time.
Keith, who has lived in Bend for 20 years, claims that he plays practical jokes to deal with his emotionally taxing job.
He said that his biggest successes were putting up a phony sign along U.S. 97 advertising the opening of a Bend In-N-Out (which the fast food business swiftly condemned) and putting big white balloons in the skies a few days after a big surveillance balloon sailed over the US.
Another practical joke was creating and printing a huge sign that purported (falsely) that the well-known Portland-based doughnut shop Voodoo Doughnut planned to open a store in Bend. In another, a life-sized cardboard cutout of the late comedian Chris Farley was affixed to a pole in a major intersection.
I’m an enormous prankster. Keith stated during an interview on Thursday. You’re being pranked if you’re a neighbor or a friend of mine.
State politics and government are covered by Carlos Fuentes. You may contact him at [email protected] or 503-221-5386.
