Talk:Lucy the Elephant

Untitled
goodness, the things that evolve into wikipedia articles. well done. Kingturtle 08:01 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

The Margate Elephant was named "Lucy" as late as 1970, as part of the save the Elephant program, I believe. Is there any record of the "Lucy" name pre-1970? User:Wetman

Not the largest elephant building
I'm not sure about the proper name, but there's a much taller elephant building in Bangkok. It's somewhere around 35 stories, and it's located on the main highway between the airport and downtown.

Here's a link to a picture http://www.thomasriddle.net/high-on-chatuchak/pages/elephant.htm (could not find working link)

Hopefully there's no copyright violation involved in making this link. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.29.34.219 (talk • contribs) 23:56, 27 December 2005


 * I agree. I've removed the claim that it's the largest elephant building (which had be reduced to the even more implausible "largest elephant") because it was an unsourced claim. (incidentally, just linking to a page is not a copyright violation) -kotra (talk) 05:46, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


 * The building in those pictures is not elephant-shaped. It has three legs (six if one is counted as a pair), it has sharp edges unlike elephant, ears are far too small and its "mouth" resembles more like duck's. 82.141.67.203 (talk) 22:54, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

Lucy the Elephant in Popular Culture
Lucy the Elephant was the subject of a Jean Shepherd radio broadcast. I say that should be discovered, and permission sought to link to the radio broadcast right here. To give people a head start, visit A Salute to Jean Shepherd. Another hint. Also see 1969 - More Jersey Slob Art, Salute to Margate Elephant Hotel, Learn Anything from Books but the link seems to be failing. I have heard the broadcast myself.

I say a section should be added along these lines, and Jean Shepherd's radio broadcast should be part of the section. --SafeLibraries 07:16, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

Wait, I have more. "The Margate Elephant," originally aired Friday, 28 March 1969, http://www.flicklives.com/database/s_summary.asp?ID=19690328W:


 * "Shep opens show with a salute to the Margate Elephant. A classic example of NJ slob art. Last Sunday's Times Newspaper report that the Margate Elephant is dying at the age of 87 years."

What do you all think? --SafeLibraries 07:28, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

William M. Gaines, the founder-publisher of Mad magazine was quite taken with the Margate elephant. He wanted to buy it and move it to New York City. The story is in The Mad World of William M. Gaines by Frank Jacobs. Also here: http://www.williammgaines.com/ WHPratt (talk) 22:40, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Lucy - a real elephant - dies
I'm adding this here because I think the link just added expires after several months. (And I specifically claim Copyright Sction 107 Fair Use applies.) --SafeLibraries 17:42, 2 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Friday, September 1, 2006


 * Wis. Zoo Euthanizes 46-Year-Old Elephant


 * THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


 * MILWAUKEE -- Lucy the elephant, believed to be the world's fourth-oldest African elephant in captivity, was euthanized Friday morning after staffers found her lying down in her stall, the Milwaukee County Zoo said.


 * The medical staff had recently decided that if the 46-year-old elephant were found lying down again, she would be euthanized, spokeswoman Jennifer Diliberti said.


 * In June, Lucy became ill and was unable to stand up in the African exhibit yard. A crane was brought in to lift the 9,000-pound animal to her feet; she struggled for a few days after that but improved.


 * Diliberti said Lucy was found lying down in late July but was able to get up on her own.


 * Brittany, Lucy's companion and the only other elephant at the zoo, was allowed in Lucy's stall after she was euthanized so she could grieve, Diliberti said.


 * She said the zoo hopes to get another elephant soon as a companion for Brittany, who is in her late 20s. Lucy spent 44 years at the zoo.


 * "It's just so sad but she had a good, long life here so that's good," Diliberti said.

Euthanized elephant
I removed this line from the article:"There was also a real elephant named Lucy, who was believed to be the fourth oldest captive elephant in the world. She was euthanized on September 1, 2006." As far as I can determine, this was not a very notable elephant & not much remembered today outside of a small circle of admirers. Googling Lucy +euthanized +elephant  and similar combinations brings up only the single-day newswire item from Sept 2006. Ewulp 04:43, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Is it a folly?
I disagree that Lucy meets the definition of an architectural folly: as its original name "Elephant Bazaar" shows, it served one of the usual purposes of a building. That makes is a fanciful and unique building, to be sure, but I wouldn't class it as a folly.

On the other hand, one of the references so calls it, rightly or wrongly, hence the claim is verifiable. I post this in the hope that someone will be able either to find a competing reference to justify deleting the claim, and perhaps discussing the point in more detail later, or else dispel my doubts on this point. Robert A.West (Talk) 18:00, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Was Elephantine Colossus actually more than twice as big?
I've got questions on the dimensions of Lucy and her big sister which was on Coney Island. This article lists Lucy as 65 feet, which I believe was up to the top of her body and did not include the howdah, or at least the roof of the howdah, and lists Colossus's height as 122, presumably measuring the equivalent dimension and indicating Lucy was 53% the height of Colossus. The article on Elephantine Colossus indicates a height of 150 feet and claims it was more than twice the size of Lucy. The discrepancy between the articles would probably be accounted for by the howdah. Does anyone know for sure that Lucy's listed height of 65 feet does not include the howdah and what that actual dimension would be? PhantomWSO (talk) 19:44, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

Good place to look: www.lucytheelephant.org

9200 Atlantic Avenue Margate, NJ 08402-2449 Phone: (609) 823-6473 Fax: (609) 823-1895 Email: info@lucytheelephant.org

Pajokie (talk) 20:29, 22 March 2017 (UTC)pajokie

Thanks. The website has only the one dimension of 65 feet high. I used to work in Margate decades ago but ironically never went inside until about a year ago (just like most New York City residents never go up the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty!). The more I think about it, the view from inside the howdah did seem like 60+ feet when I was up there, but as I look at pictures, it's more likely that 65 feet includes the top of the howdah. Still can't find data on the exact dimensions of Colossus that explains the discrepancy between the 122 and 150 cited. PhantomWSO (talk) 20:30, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

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