Lego Man Emerges from the Ocean
"NO REAL THAN YOU ARE," read the shirt on the eight-foot-tall fiberglass Lego lookalike that washed ashore on Florida's Siesta Key Beach in October. But the mysterious words, and the man bearing them, left residents and tourists befuddled.
It wasn't a publicity stunt from Lego, nor did it come from Legoland Amusement Park in Orlando. In fact, the company had nothing to do with it. The mystery was solved only after the Sarasota Herald Tribune used the name "Ego Leonard," which was written on the back of the figure's shirt, to contact a Dutch man via e-mail. He appears to be an artist, and registered a website the bears the same phrase that the Lego Man was bearing.
His response to the media inquiry remained in character: "I am glad I crossed over. Although it was a hell of a swim. Nice weather here and friendly people. I think I am gonna stay here for a while. A local sheriff escorted me to my new home." Similar Lego Men have made landings in Zandvoort, Holland and Brighton, England.