40 Of The Most Bizarre Sculptures That May Work Better Than Coffee At Keeping You Awake

Have you ever seen a sculpture that made you say "What the duck?" Well, there are more of them than you can think of. Just in the UK alone, more than 13,000 public sculptures were recorded and shared online for the first time last year. A good amount of them are pretty unconventional. Others, like a giant silver spoon in the middle of a field, are downright bewildering, to say the least. Imagine taking a stroll on the outskirts of your hometown and stumbling into a giant spoon.

Of course, that's pretty mild stuff when you compare it with a 40-foot bear statue standing and peering into Denver's Convention Center. Yeah, you read that right. Right in the heart of Denver, Colorado, the sculpture titled "I see what you mean" is a whimsical interpretation of the wild animals that roam the Rockies. Since being erected in 2005, it has become a symbol of the city's playful, creative spirit and a pretty great conversation starter as well. Whether you're a tourist or a local, you can't help but be a little shocked when you see this big blue behemoth staring at you.

While we're talking about Godzilla-sized animal statues, deep beneath Lake Neuchâtel's surface lies a sculpture that's sure to give you goosebumps: an underwater 16-feet-tall shark statue. Of course, not everyone has access to this plastic Megalodon since it‘s buried a couple of feet down into the dark waters.

According to one internet user, it was made in 2007 by 176 kids and a couple of professionals for the short movie called "Choc au lac". The video and the beast's performance in it are long gone. But if you have the guts and a few spare oxygen tanks, this frightening bag of jaws is eager to meet new visitors 24/7 (souvenirs include a bad case of thalassophobia). 

And yet: what's the deal with these phantasmagorical sculptures? Why are we so drawn to them? Part of the appeal of these strange and often unsettling works, we guess, lies in their ability to evoke a strong emotional response. Just take a look at “The Traveler” napping inside the glass cage of Orlando International Airport. It looks so real and relatable that it's pretty difficult not to be awe-struck by its hyper-realism. They challenge us to look beyond the surface and engage with art on a deeper, more meaningful level. Even if they remind you of Slenderman coming to life.