Indiana Town’s ‘A Christmas Story’ Statue Commemorates The ‘Triple Dog Dare’

Hammond, IN – A bronze statue dedicated to the iconic “triple dog dare” from the beloved holiday classic A Christmas Story has been unveiled in an Indiana town, and it’s no coincidence that it’s there.

The statue, which depicts the character Flick pinning his tongue to a flag pole, was unveiled Tuesday. The actor who portrayed the unfortunate Flick, Scott Schwartz, was in attendance, reports CBS Chicago.

“This is surreal,” he said of the unveiling. “It’s awesome.”

Schwartz posed for photos with the statue created by the studio Rotblatt-Amrany, which also sculpted the Michael Jordan statue that stands outside of the United Center.

“Being statued, being formed by the same guy who did the one for Jordan, it’s like now I’ve got to send these down to Michael … because I’m friends with him. I’m going to send this down to him and his brother in Charlotte, and go ‘Check this out!’ This is just so cool,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz also said that the pole used in the film was plastic, so there was never any risk of his tongue getting stuck. There was, however, a hole in it that he stuck his tongue into.

You might be asking “Why Hammond?” As we noted above, the statue’s location is far from coincidence. Jean Shepherd, who wrote A Christmas Story, wrote a collection of short stories called In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash which is about his life growing up in Hammond, Indiana. Many of those stories eventually made it to the film version of A Christmas Story.

The town in the film, Hohman, is based on Hammond.

The statue was developed by Indiana’s South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority in agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, according to NBC News. The same group is also preparing for its annual “A Christmas Story Comes Home” exhibit, which will open at the Indiana Welcome Center on November 9.

Here’s the scene from A Christmas Story in which Flick sticks his tongue to the flag pole:

[Image: NBC Chicago]