Lightning strikes, foreign travels and other quirky facts about the Merlion

1. The basics

Clocking in at 8.6m tall with a weight of 70 tonnes, the Merlion was first designed in 1964, although construction didn’t begin for another seven years.

2. From the hands of babes

When local sculptor Lim Nang Seng began building the Merlion in 1971, all eight of his children pitched in to help out with the construction.

The younger children worked on its body, while the older children actually scaled the scaffolding to work on its eyes and mouth!

3. The case of the mysteriously appearing eyes

When the Merlion was first unveiled on Sept 15, 1972, the irises of its eyeballs were the same white colour as the rest of it.

However, at some unknown point between then and the present, its eyes became painted black, as they remain today.

4. The great migration

In 1997, the Esplanade Bridge was completed. Unfortunately, this meant that the Merlion, which sat at the mouth of the Singapore River, could no longer be properly viewed from the waterfront.

After five long years of being overshadowed by the Esplanade Bridge, the Merlion was finally moved to a new Merlion Park at One Fullerton in 2002.

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5. A bolt from the blue

In 2009, the Merlion was tragically struck by lightning and afflicted with a serious condition known as "Hole in the Head" (along with the base, which was struck by falling debris from said head).

Fortunately, some emergency surgery by construction workers led to it making a full recovery, albeit with lightning protection installed this time.

After all, they say lightning never strikes twice, but it never hurts to be careful.

There are actually six official Merlions installed at five sites across Singapore.

Firstly, there’s the main Merlion (aka the star of this story), which is accompanied by a smaller Merlion cub that’s only two-metres tall with a weight of three tonnes.

Merlions three and four are a pair of 2.5m tall twins which sit at the entrance to the carpark for Blocks 216 to 220 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

Finally, there’s the Merlion in Tourism Court and another one in Mount Faber, both of which stand at three-metres tall.

7. A fish by any other name (or form)

Despite its regal stature, the Merlion has adopted other forms on occasion in an attempt to better connect with common citizens.

For example, in 2010, it became a blue-maned female named Merly for the Youth Olympic Games.

More recently, it reimagined itself as a cute cartoon character named Merli in 2018, hoping to endear itself to young children with its whimsical appearance.

8. Globetrotting and wanderlust

Of course, standing in the same spot all the time and spitting water at tourists must get boring after a while.

So, it should come as no surprise that the Merlion often roams the world in search of adventure.

For instance, it’s been spotted relatively frequently in Japan, with sightings in Hakodate and Karuizawa, among other places.

Naturally, its pilgrimages have been the source of much inspiration for creators and artists, resulting in its likeness being reproduced in Japanese vending machines and designer toys.

It’s even ventured into the digital realm, with appearances in cartoons like Phineas and Ferb, Japanese anime like Cowboy Bebop, and even video games like Nintendo’s Animal Crossing!

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This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.