Le Crapo is an honorary pimply resident of Jersey (7 photos)

There are many monuments to our smaller brothers. But mostly sculptures and statues are dedicated to furry creatures. Residents of the city of St. Helier in Jersey decided to correct this historical injustice in an unusual way.





So here appeared a statue erected in honor of the nickname that the French gave to the residents of Jersey.



St Helier, Jersey

Since time immemorial, the French and the English have been friends and bitter rivals. The British (and others) call their continental neighbours "the frogs". This derogatory term partly stems from the stereotype that the French dine on frog legs. In response, the French have nicknamed the people of Jersey (a UK territory off the coast of Brittany, where French is spoken as much as English) "les crapauds", meaning "the toads".





Rather than expressing resentment and resentment over their nickname, Jersey residents are somewhat wryly proud of their "crapaud" status, to the point that the warty toad has become an unofficial but beloved symbol of the islanders. So proud are Jerseyans of their nickname that a sculpture of the raspy-voiced creature has stood in the island's capital, St Helier, since 2004. Artist Gordon Young's creation sits proudly atop a 10-foot column in an area previously known for its marsh toads.



But the friendly amphibian wasn't always friendly. According to island legend, when Saint Samson of Dol, one of the seven founding saints of Brittany, arrived on Jersey, he found the inhabitants so unfriendly that he banished all the toads and snakes from neighboring Guernsey to their land. Jersey is the only island in the English Channel where toads live.