That Glasgow sense of humor

Okay, the thing I liked best about Glasgow was the peoples' sense of humor.

There's a statue of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, on a horse outside the Gallery of Modern Art in the middle of the old town.  And Wellington deserves the statue.  He defeated Napoleon at Waterloo fer cryin' out loud.  He was twice Prime Minister of England!

But that doesn't keep the Glaswegians from knocking him down a peg.  Since the 1980s, pranksters have been climbing up the statue, which is probably at least 25 feet tall, and placing traffic cones on the Duke's head.

Now, the local constable doesn't take too kindly to these shenanigans, so they remove Artie's hat.  But, the cone soon reappears and a game of cat and mouse ensues.  For years.  And years.  And years.  This pylon removal is estimated to cost the city £10,000 (currently $13,100) annually.

The city government considers raising the pedestal of the statue to discourage these high jinks, but cooler heads raise the point that Glaswegian practical jokers likely have access to ladders.  And alcohol.  And the two don't mix.

Besides, Glaswegians are organizing.  10,0000 signatures are produced, asking for the statue to remain at its current, cone-accessible height.  A Facebook page, Keep the Cone, has almost 90,000 likes and, for now, the statue, along with its cones, remains.