Hundreds swarm the bean in a valiant but unsuccessful effort to push the 110-ton steel sculpture seven inches to the left, Nov. 8, 2026. Credit: Saniyah Whaley DOWNTOWN — It was a valiant effort, but The Bean remains unmoved.
Hundreds of Chicagoans showed up to Millennium Park Sunday to answer a call posted on an anonymous flyer asking for help pushing The Bean exactly seven inches to the left at the oddly specific time of 12:47 p.m.
The flyer began going viral on social media Saturday, leading to a sizable crowd that turned out in droves and worked as a group to move the Bean. The people, however, were simply no match against 110 tons of steel.
It’s the latest public stunt in a recent string of absurd viral gatherings that have included celebrity lookalike contests, performative male pageants and even a protest calling for the release of a man supposedly trapped inside of The Bean.
In fact, the anonymous person who appears to have organized the event called back to the man-inside-The-Bean meme with a salacious allegation of a hidden latch door.
“There is a man trapped inside the bean,” poster ‘gs’ wrote on the event’s Partiful page. “New research shows that there might be latch door under the right side of The Bean. If we move The Bean about seven inches to the left we might be able to access that door and give the man inside The Bean a pickle and other resources.”
Saniyah Whaley, a freshman at the nearby School of the Art Institute of Chicago, was one of the people who saw the flyer posted on social media and knew immediately that the event would be a fun way to spend a Sunday. She said as many as 250 joined in the effort.
“Yesterday night, I was scrolling on Instagram and I saw this post telling people to come to Millennium Park to push The Bean seven inches to the left,” Whaley said. “It gave me something to do today because if I didn’t go, I wasn’t really gonna leave like my dorm or anything.”
Of course, there probably isn’t any such latch door – and there definitely isn’t a man trapped inside The Bean, at least according to Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who said his office has been inundated with calls about a man trapped in the sculpture.
But the masses were undeterred.
Footage from the event shows hundreds swarming the iconic sculpture in Millennium Park and unsuccessfully pushing the sculpture.
Prolific Chicago promoter and entertainer Taylor Bennett posted a video rallying several people around him to help with the push before jokingly declaring victory.
“Alright, we’re gonna call that at least one inch, someone said it moved,” he said. “I don’t know if we got it the full seven inches, but I will say that compared to the last time I was here, it looks like it was moved slightly.”
Bennett clarified in the post’s caption that The Bean wasn’t actually moved.
The Bean, officially titled “Cloud Gate,” was designed by artist Anish Kapoor and unveiled in 2006. It now sees about 20 million visitors each year — making it to the top attraction in the Midwest, the seventh-most-frequented spot in the United States and a likely landmark for viral meetups and meme events.
Whaley said that Sunday’s effort, while silly, was an exciting way to meet new people and spread joy.
“In the back of everyone’s minds, we knew it wasn’t really gonna move,” she said. “I think these events are just for people to build stronger connections in community. A lot of people have these common interests, even if it’s [just] trying to push The Bean … It brought a lot of joy to a lot of people there.”
Tell those fuckers there’s free shit underneath it watch that thing flip!
_____________________________ Pledge allegiance or pack your bag! The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher Spread my work ethic, not my wealth
Posts: 7517 | Location: South East, Pa | Registered: July 04, 2002
They were probably on both sides of The Bean trying to move it.
_________________________________________________________________________ “A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.” -- Mark Twain, 1902
Posts: 10707 | Location: Northern Virginia | Registered: November 04, 2005
Yep. Social media has done soooo much good for society.
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-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
Posts: 18877 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: October 14, 2005
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