100 things: 001 - the gherkin

[tsuki_no_bara]

aka the swiss re building (because it's theirs), aka 30 st mary axe (because that's the street address), aka the world's largest bullet vibe.

Comments

[gestaltrose]

gherkin is another word for pickle I believe. It looks like an enormous green dildo pickle... I suppose.

[embroiderama]

Yeah, I think it's definitely the pickle thing--that was my assumption, too. But calling it The Dildo would be a lot funnier. ;)

[tsuki_no_bara]

well, it does look more like a dildo than a giant pickle.... and i'm now wondering if it would be completely wrong to open a sex shop somewhere you got a good view of the building, because it's so nicely suggestive.

[tsuki_no_bara]

but it doesn't look like an actual gherkin to me! it's too pointy at the tip. more dildo, less pickle.

[queerlyobscure]

That building was either brand new or still under construction last time I was in London (I forget exactly when that was. 8-10 years ago, anyway). I heard it called an eyesore a couple of times, but I always kinda liked it.

It does look like a giant vibrator, though.

[tsuki_no_bara]

i love it. it's distinctive and kind of greenish and kind of suggestive. i remember it being called and eyesore too, but at least it's an interesting-looking one.

[jola]

pickle icon!!! for obvious reasons.

[tsuki_no_bara]

heee! but of course. :D

[chaneen]

Yeah, Rose is right. I was living in London when they were building it, and at that time it got the nickname "the gherkin" because it's green and looks like a giant pickle. And like other things, but those wouldn't make for the most family-friendly, or news media-friendly of nicknames. ;)

[tsuki_no_bara]

i still think it's too pointy to be really pickle-shaped - and every time i buy gherkins they're kind of bottom-heavy - but "gherkin" really is more public-friendly than, you know, "bullet vibe".

[finnygan]

I love the Gherkin, but mostly because of the way it's constructed and because I'm an engineering geek like that. Embarrassingly, though, I've been past there more times than I can count and I only realised last week that it's the Swiss Re building.

[tsuki_no_bara]

i only know it's the swiss re building because that came up when i googled it. but at least i have the excuse of not living in london.... i feel like i should know more about the way it's built than i do. mostly i just think it looks really fucking cool.