Giant Legoman washes ashore on Siesta Key

Residents on the north end of the Key and people who regularly walk the Siesta Key beach in the mornings had a big surprise awaiting them today: a large Legoman, about 8 feet tall, had washed ashore from the Gulf of Mexico.

Three people contacted the Pelican Press with photos. Joel Fried, a Terrace resident, said he first saw the floating object about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. “It just floated up” on the shore, he said. Some people on the beach set it upright, he added.

Peter van Roekens, another Terrace resident, said he saw it about 8:30 a.m. Both men said it was between 7 and 8 feet tall.

As of 9:30 a.m., the Legoman was still there in the surf, Fried said.

After doing some research on the Internet, Fried said he found that the object is part of the Ego Leonard project (www.egoleonard.nl). The website has a photo of the object and says, “I am here to discover and learn about your world and thoughts.”

In August 2007, one of the giant Legomen washed ashore at the Dutch resort of Zandvoort, according to Reuters. It had the same message printed on its front as the object on Siesta Key: “No real than you are.”
As of 10 a.m. today, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office had no reports about the incident on Siesta, according to Wendy Rose, the public information officer.